Chemical Kisses
by Mayalen
Summary: Between avoiding Fan Clubs, dealing with bipolar friends, and deadlines in love, this is going to be one very eventful school year. [AU][RikuSora&AxelRoxas]
1. Awakening: Gang 6

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Or anything, really.

_Summary:_ Riku and Sora are two of the six students in 'Gang 6'; the pet name for the most popular and attractive boys at Destiny Island High. Between avoiding Fan Clubs, dealing with bi-polar friends, and deadlines in love, this is going to be one very eventful school year.

_Author's Note_: Wow. Okay, this is the first fanfic I've posted. So obviously I don't have much to say in the beginning. Please don't flame this. I mean, I am a _writer_, so constructive criticism is what I feed on, but let's face it. Flames are kind of useless. So, that being said, read and enjoy!

_Warning:_ This story is RikuxSora, as well as several other pairings. That means yaoi, so you know, don't read it if you don't like that stuff. Kay? Kay.

---

**Chemical Kisses**

_Chapter One: Awakening: Gang 6_

_S...O...R..._ he traced his foot in the dusty sidewalk, spelling out the name. As soon as his foot had etched out the final letter, the boy's ears perked to hear the voice of the very person he had been thinking about. "Hey, Riku!"

Riku turned and faced his best friend, who ran up to him, out of breath. "You're late," his aquamarine eyes narrowing in - mock? - anger.

"I know," Sora panted, leaning against the fence that separated the school from the outside world, "See, I was trying to be on time like you said but-" He was interrupted by Riku's hand ruffling his cinnamon spikes.

"Save it," Riku chuckled, "It just means that since you _ruined_ the plan," he emphasized the word, "You're going to have to deal with _them_ today." He turned and began to walk towards the entrance of the school, despite Sora's protests.

"No, wait, that's not fair! I did yesterday! You know I hate this!" Sora clinged to his friend's arm, pleading. Riku looked down at his desperate face and sighed. He walked up the front steps of the school, looking in the windows of the doors. Sora grinned as Riku turned and smiled at him, but then slowly...his grin faded. That was the Evil Riku smile! "Oh, shi-!" He turned to run, but Riku grabbed the back of his shirt.

"You made me wait for you, so now it's time to even the score!" he laughed, opening the school door and tossing Sora inside. Instantly he heard the squeals of twenty or thirty 10th grade girls. Riku slumped down against the door outside, laughing. _Better him than me,_ he thought with a grin.

Inside, however, Sora was far from laughing as he was being mauled by the greater portion of the 'Riku and Sora Fan Club'. The two friends had always been popular, but when they started high school, a group of girls had decided that they all loved the boys enough to start the club. More commonly known as the RS Cult to the less-insane students, the club's members seemed to grown in number every day.

Sora was bombarded with candy, first of all. Everyone knew of his fixation with sugar, and the Club girls only took advantage of that. As he tiredly shoved the pounds of refined sugar into his backpack (and one into his mouth), he heard the bell ring. He sighed; they were going to be late again.

"Wait! Sora!" Selphie, one of the founders of the club, pounced him as he started to walk away, "Take these." She forced two pieces of paper into his hand, and as quickly as they came, the hoard of fangirls disappeared. Blinking, and slightly shell-shocked, he read the papers. Admission slips? Oh! He understood. The girls gave these to him to get Riku and himself into class without any trouble. Maybe they weren't so bad after all...

He heard the door swing open and saw Riku walk in, unfazed by the trauma Sora had been put through. "So, how'd it go?" He laughed when he looked at Sora, then reached up and took something from the end of one of his gravity-defying spikes. "Looks like you enjoyed yourself." He showed Sora the blue bow he had pulled from his hair. The girls always did something like that without Sora noticing; it had become Riku's job to remove any of the accessories that had found their way into Sora's locks.

"Ugh, Riku, I hate having to do that!" Sora pouted, running his hands through his hair. Riku smiled and watched him; nothing was more adorable than a flustered Sora. That was part of the reason Riku would trick Sora into distracting the Club: so he could see that cute pout, and was able to comfort his friend and convince him that it was only because the girls loved him so much that they would attack him each morning.

Forcing himself back to reality, Riku realized they were almost 15 minutes late for their first class. Sora, apparently on the same train of thought, handed Riku one of the admit slips. "Here. We gotta thank Selphie for those later," he added, as they started to walk to their first class.

Their teacher, Seifer Almasy, 'taught' them science. Well, he more or less told them what to read in the textbook and disappeared for the rest of the class. Nobody knew where he went, but as far as they were concerned, science class became a free period for everyone. So, by the time Sora and Riku were approaching the class, they almost walked right into Seifer. He would never let anyone call him by his last name, but he never told why. That is, nobody asked, as he was one of the most frightening teachers at the school. He had his favorite students, much like any other teacher, but Fujin and Raijin were in his afternoon class, and Sora and Riku had never met them.

Without saying a word, the two boys thrust the admit slips into Seifer's waiting hand and hurried into the classroom. The door slammed shut behind them, but the noise was lost to the usual Thursday morning din. Almost half the class shouted greetings to them as they walked to the usual spot in the back of the class; the other students mostly just nodded greetings to them as they passed by to sit with Tidus, Roxas and Axel.

"Hey guys," Roxas smiled as they sat in their seats. Roxas was sitting cross-legged on Axel's desk while Axel himself was tipped back in his chair with headphones on, eyes closed. These five were most of the group that all the other students secretly called 'Gang 6'. Not the most creative label, everyone agreed, but a student had once thought of it and the name had stuck. For they really were a gang of six: Sora, Riku, Tidus, Roxas, Axel, and one other who was absent, as usual. They were the six most popular, six most attractive, and six most adored males at Destiny Island High.

"Whoa, so Sora, I'm guessing you were the one to go into the school first today?" Tidus noted Sora's mussed hair and clothes. Everyone in their group had a problem with fangirls, for some reason they couldn't fathom, but it seemed that Riku and Sora had it the worst. "Or, did Riku finally give in to temptation on the way to school?" He laughed, a faint blush creeping onto Sora's face as he forcedly laughed too, while Riku looked away muttering something to the effect of 'Piss off...'

"No, Selphie was leading the charge today," a voice said from the doorway, causing the class to fall silent instantly.

"Zexion!" Sora exclaimed, almost falling out of his seat, if it weren't for Riku grabbing his shoulder and setting him upright again. "Hey! Where've you been?" The rest of the group looked over as well, and Axel even took off his beloved headphones to hear the response.

"Oh, you know, here and there," Zexion replied casually, strolling over to his friends. The rest of the class breathed a collective sigh of relief, and returned to their chatter; Zexion was in a good mood today. Everyone was aware of his temper and somewhat…violent tendencies, and were sure that if he wasn't in Gang 6, Zexion would've been sent to Juvie a long time ago.

He sat back with the others and they watched him expectantly. Finally, Axel spoke up. "Where the hell have you been for the last two weeks?"

"Yeah," Sora chimed in, "And what's with the new scar? You been fighting again?"

Zexion chuckled, running a finger along the fresh line that stretched between his left temple and chin. "Nah, nothing too serious this time. I got kicked out again, so…I didn't have much time for school." He stopped and looked at the five faces intently watching him. "What?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "And? What else happened? I'm pretty sure you didn't just wander around town for two weeks."

"Right, right," Zexion murmured, stroking his chin in thought. "I, uh, borrowed a boat and went over to Twilight Town. I stayed with my friend Hayner and battled in The Struggle."

Roxas blinked. "Oh yeah, I remember that." Roxas was born in Twilight Town but moved to Destiny Islands in the third grade. He was instantly accepted into the group, as the other five already lived there. "Hey, didn't Seifer used to live there too?"

"Yep, he's the Struggle champion," Zexion said, a malicious glint in his eye, "Or at least, he _was_."

"No way!" Tidus laughed, "You beat his record? Awesome!"

Zexion went on to tell the story of his adventure, but soon the bell rang, ending the class. The six split up; Sora, Tidus and Zexion went to English class, Riku and Axel to math and Roxas to art class.

The bell rang again, and Sora was sitting in Ms. Gainsborough's English class. As soon as she started explaining about today's lesson (Your friends, the verbs!) Sora nudged Zexion, who was sitting beside him. "Hey, Zexion, um...what's it like in Twilight Town?"

Zexion glanced at the teacher for a moment and brushed a strand of his silver-blue bangs back before turning to Sora. "Oh yeah, you've never been off the island before, have you?" He looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again. "Twilight Town...it's like a constant sunset there. Always dusky, but bright enough to see, you know? The streets are all lined with buildings and you can skateboard-" he was cut off by Ms. Gainsborough.

"Something you'd like to share with us, Zexion?" she asked, her sweet demeanor covering any annoyance she might have.

"Uh, no." Zexion replied bluntly. Sora waited until the teacher had gone back to the lesson before whispering again.

"We should all go there sometime. I mean, all six of us. Can we?" He looked up at his friend with puppy-dog eyes, obviously determined now that he would escape the island.

Zexion sighed. Sora was like a younger brother to him, despite the fact that they were the same age. Besides, no one on earth could say no to Sora when he put on his cute face. "Fine..." Zexion whispered, "We could go for spring break, I suppose..."

Sora grinned and pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!" Although perhaps he exclaimed his joy too loud, as the entire class looked at him, including a very annoyed teacher. "Um...yes! I love verbs!" He chuckled nervously and slid down further in his seat.

"Nice," Zexion laughed, and proceeded to watch their young teacher as she struggled to reach some textbooks on a very (conveniently) high shelf.

Meanwhile, in art class, Roxas was working on a sketch of the group: Sora was standing in his usual sloughing pose with Riku's arms wrapped around his shoulders, and Riku had his face buried in Sora's cinnamon hair, just his brilliantly blue eyes looking up. Tidus was balancing a blitzball on his nose as he sat crouched down like a cat. Zexion, with his long, trademark bangs, stood with his arms behind his head, and Roxas and Axel were sitting back-to-back smiling, their hands linked. This was the way Roxas thought things should be, everyone showing their true feelings, just being...best friends.

_It's a shame, _he thought, _this might just be the best picture I've ever drawn, but I'd never show them. No need to force things that will happen anyway. _Roxas pulled out a blank sheet of paper and began sketching again, one of his friends...he wasn't quite sure which one, but he would know eventually.

As his pencil danced over the paper, forming what would soon be another one of countless pictures of his favorite redhead, Roxas didn't notice the stares from a certain blonde girl who had been watching him through the whole class.

At the same time, Riku and Axel were sitting in the back of math class, trying to perfect the gentle art of paper airplanes. They had been given the rest of the class to work on homework; Axel had copied the answers from the answer guide at the back of the textbook, and Riku hadn't bothered to do it at all.

"So, uh…Riku," Axel started, "Do you think…Roxas likes me?"

Riku coughed, "Well, that was certainly…random. Do you mean, 'Hey how's it going' like, or 'Hold me, touch me' like?" He laughed at the embarrassed look on Axel's face.

"You know what I mean," he sighed.

"I think the whole school knows what you mean," Riku replied, running a hand through his soft, silver hair, "Except for Roxas. He's almost as dense as Sora is." He sighed as well, and the two sat in silence for a moment.

"So…why don't we help each other, then?" Axel asked quietly. "No, not like that," he responded to the disturbed look on Riku's face. "I mean, I get you together with Sora, and you help me and Roxas?" He grinned mischievously, already formulating a plan.

"Hmm…sounds like a challenge," Riku smiled, "You're on. I'll have Roxas all over you by…Spring Break."

Fear washed over Axel for a split second, but he shook it of. "That's the end of next week," he speculated, "Deal. In eight days, you and Sora will be snogging each other's brains out."

The two grinned evilly, both minds filling with fantasies. With a final handshake, the challenge was on.

---

Yay! First chapter done! Ooh, do I have some great plans for this...please review and tell me what you think!

I'm sure there are a few spelling and grammar mistakes that I didn't catch, so please bear with it. :)

--Mayalen


	2. FreezeFrame Part 1

**Disclaimer: **Yeah I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did there would be a lot of yaoi. A LOT.

**Author's Note:** Well, here's the first half of chapter two. I'm doing it in two parts because i'm pretty short on time today...I just want this day in the story to end! This'll make like, three chapters of one day. Ah, well. This one is kind of short, about three pages on MSWord. But, there's little snippets of fluff! Not much, but it gets us through the day, ne? Anyway, it introduces a little bit of plot i've been...plotting! Oh, and thank you to everyone who read the first chapter, and to those of you that reviewed!

So with that, here's chapter two, part one.

**---**

**Chemical Kisses**

Chapter 2: Freeze-Frame (Part One)

It was lunchtime, and the six boys were sitting out behind the school, beneath one of the three willow trees that ran along the fence separating the schoolyard from the beach. This was a classic scene, and most of the local fangirls had at least one copy of a picture someone took of the group in this setting; Tidus and Roxas passing the blitzball back and forth, Axel sitting against the bottom of the worn tree with his headphones on, watching Roxas fool around...Zexion was leaning against the tree trunk too, talking and joking with Riku and Sora, who were sitting among the sturdy willow branches.

While Riku and Zexion were deep in discussion about 'What _was_ that on Mr. Highwind's head', Sora heard the shuffle of two of three pairs of feet coming towards them. He turned to see Selphie, Kairi and Yuffie heading closer from the front of the school. They were walking quickly and close together, and their giggles could be heard from across campus. These were, as Sora had learned, signs of excited fangirls.

"Um, guys?" Sora started, pointing towards the girls, "Incoming."

Roxas and Tidus stopped playing their game and turned towards the visitors, which caused Axel to pull off his headphones with a mischievous look and stand up. He moved behind Roxas and slowly snaked his arms around the blonde's waist, pulling him close and whispering something in his ear, too quiet for the others to hear. A blush rose furiously on Roxas' face as he murmured, "N-no..." Axel grinned but didn't let go, instead sending a smirk in Riku's direction, who had been watching the whole scene. It was a silent challenge: 'Your turn.'

Riku looked down at Sora, who was still perched on the branch below; he had been talking to the three girls until they had seen Axel and Roxas' display, and Kairi swooned. The two others were bent down beside her, trying to revive their friend, while Sora looked on, slight concern etched into his expression. Riku saw his chance, and took it.

He swung gracefully down to sit close to Sora--very close, indeed. "Sora..." he said quietly, his silver bangs gently falling to cover his eyes, "You don't _like_ those girls, do you?" Pitching the exact right amount of jealousy into his voice, he looked up at Sora, aqua eyes gleaming while he brushed his hair back. He waited anxiously for a response.

Sora could feel his face heating up. How was he supposed to respond to that? And that look in Riku's eyes... "N-no..." he managed to get out, much like Roxas a moment earlier. Riku grinned, and nuzzled Sora's shoulder for a few seconds, before stopping to look down at the ground.

The other boys looked too, to see _three_ unconscious fangirls. "Oh," Axel said lightly, "Guess they got overloaded." he pulled Roxas to sit with him at the base of the willow; Roxas did so quite willingly.

Tidus, who had been standing with the girls after Kairi collapsed, crouched down to poke the three unconscious females lightly. They twitched slightly, so he laughed and sat down, waiting for them to come around. Zexion, however, had been watching the entire thing transpire. These sudden bursts of affection from Riku and Axel couldn't have just been a coincidence.

"Hm..." he mused to himself, "_This_ is interesting..."

---

A few minutes later, Kairi, Selphie and Yuffie woke up simultaneously. _Whoa,_ thought Tidus, _Are they all on the same frequency or something?_ He shuffled back a few feet as they sat up. Yuffie squeaked as they saw who they were with; Tidus, sitting with them, Sora and Riku, talking normally again, though still sitting close together, Roxas and Axel at the base of the tree leaning against one another, though not saying a word, and finally Zexion, propped up against the tree, watching everything. Sora noticed they were awake, and to Riku's dismay, jumped down to ground level.

"Oh, um...about what you said before, Yuffie? I don't know if the other guys would want to..." he put his hands behind his head and smiled apologetically, trying to not look at the three crestfallen faces before him.

"Want to do what?" Tidus asked, standing up and dusting off his shorts.

"This!" Yuffie exclaimed, pushing a folded paper into the blonde's face. He took it, and the other boys gathered around to read it.

it was a letter, addressed to the "Destiny Island High Fangirls Society". Ignoring the slightly ominous fact that there was a whole _society_ of these people, Zexion read it out loud. "Dear 'Fangirls': Thank you for sending in your picture. We would love to feature the subjects in the next magazine issue. If it would be convenient, please..." It went on to mention dates and locations, "...signed, S&L Studios." The six of them reading the letter looked up, dumbfounded. "You sent in a photo of us?"

Selphie chirped out something along the lines of "Yes!" and then proceeded into a very fast-paced explanation.

"So basically," Axel deducted after she stopped to take a breath, "You sent in our photo, and now they want to feature us in their magazine?" The girls nodded in unison. "_Which_ magazine?" he asked, skeptical.

"Teen Heartthrob!" the three cheered, earning blank stares from all except one.

"Ah, that one that just features pictures of hot guys?" Tidus asked, but it dawned on him what he had said. "No, no! It's not like that!" he waved his hands frantically, explaining to his friends as they gave him strange looks, "Larxene was reading one! My sister!"

"Oh...okay. Um, can you girls hold on a sec?" Riku stated more than asked, and shuffled the other five off to the side. "So, you guys don't actually want to _do_ this, do you?" he asked, once they were out of hearing distance.

"I do!" Sora chirped up, causing everyone to look at him. He stuttered, 'I-I mean, it could be fun, you know?"

"I think so too," Tidus added a moment later, "It'd be cool."

Riku signed, "Fine. I suppose Zex and I will go too..." He nudged the blue-haired boy to his left.

"Hey, don't volunteer other people!" Zexion began to protest, before being cut off by Roxas.

"Count me in, too." The five turned to Axel, waiting for him to join in.

"Well, of course I'm going if Roxas is!" The redhead laughed, swinging an arm around Roxas' shoulder. "Hey, girls!" he called over, waving to them, "We'll do it!"

The three girls cheered, and ran over. Yuffie handed Zexion the letter again. "The time and place are on there," she giggled, "Have fun!"

"We can't wait to see the result!" Kairi called back as they walked away.

The six stood in silence for a moment, before Roxas spoke up. "So...we should get to class."

With that, the boys walked back to the school.

---

**A/N:** Thank you for reading. Please review!


	3. FreezeFrame Part 2

**Disclaimer: **Me no own Kingdom Hearts.

**Author's Note: ** Thank you all for the nice reviews! And only after a few days of releasing the story...I am humbled! Really, you guys are the greatest. I was urged to update really fast...see what power nice reviews have? Two things I wanted to mention though, before I start this chapter; Roxas' hair _does_ look orange in Twilight Town, but that's because it's, you know, twilight there. It gives everything an orange-y glow. If you look at pictures in magazines and such, you'll see it's really blonde. Second, The Destiny Island Fangirls Society does accept male members, it was just named fan_girl_ because it was three girls who founded it! And now, on with the story!

**---**

**Chemical Kisses**

Chapter Three: Freeze-Frame (Part Two)

After they arrived back in the school, the group parted ways. Axel, unfortunately, had failed French the year before, so he grudgingly left to go to the ninth-grade class. Sora and Riku had History together, and Roxas went with Tidus to Math class. Zexion had computer programming by himself, and though he complained of death by loneliness, it was his favorite class--aside from first period science, that is.

Roxas was copying a chart from an overhead - some nonsense about fractions and graphs - when Tidus poked him in the side with the eraser of his pencil. Finishing the sentence he was jotting down, Roxas turned to hiss, "What?" to his friend.

"Do you, uh, know that girl?" Tidus pointed towards the other side of the classroom, where, Roxas saw, a blonde girl in a solid white outfit was staring at him.

He turned back to Tidus, "No, I don't recognize her...but we get stares like that all the time; what's up?" His forehead creased in thought. No, he had never seen that girl ever before...

"Dude, she's been looking at you for almost tem minutes _without blinking_!" Tidus whispered, glancing back briefly at the strange girl. "Do you think she died like that or something?"

"I don't know..." Roxas was afraid to look back at her - What _was_ she doing? "Okay, cover me; I'm going in!" Before Tidus could protest, Roxas slid from his seat and was crawling between desks.

Tidus signed. Roxas used to say that when they were in elementary school; it was a sign for Tidus to distract the teacher. He hopped up and hurried to the front of the room. Um, can you explain...the, err, whole lesson to me again?" Tidus wasn't sure how much time he'd need; might as well go all out.

Roxas saw Tidus talking to the teacher, and crawled over to the girl. He was started to see she was still looking at him, although she had moved slightly. He probably should've expected that. "Hello," she spoke in a soft voice.

"Uh, hi." Roxas glanced up at Tidus for a second; he had the teacher drawing him a complex formula on the front board. "Not to sound rude or anything, but...who are you?" he looked back at the blonde girl.

She smiled slightly, perhaps...sadly? "My name is Namine," she replied, still not taking her eyes off him. Roxas shifted uncomfortably; he was sure now that he didn't know her, but why was she still staring?

"Oh, um, I'm--" He started but was cut off.

"You're Roxas, I know." she smiled like before, her blue eyes showing no trace of emotion, as far as Roxas could tell.

"Y-yeah," he murmured, glancing back to Tidus for a moment. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, who are you staring at me so much?" _Way to be blunt,_ he thought tiredly.

"Honestly, Roxas," Namine spoke quietly, "It's because I'm in love with you."

Roxas froze. What did she say? This complete stranger...in love with him? _This is crazy,_ he thought, shaking it off. "O-kay then," he replied, and crawled back to his desk before she could say anything else.

He sat down and waited until Tidus returned. "Man," Tidus complained, "That better have been worth it, 'cause that was torture." He leaned back in his seat. "What'd she say?"

Roxas paused for a moment before saying anything. "She said her name was Namine, and she's in love with me."

Tidus coughed loudly. "_In_ love with you? That's odd..." All of Gang 6 had had their share of girls who loved them, but for one to be _in_ love with them? That didn't happen so often. "So uh, you gonna tell Axel about this?"

Roxas turned away for a moment. "I...don't know," he replied honestly, "Should I?"

"Probably," was the only response he got.

Meanwhile, Axel was sitting in French class, doodling away in the margins of his worn notebook. It was quite unlike him, but due to current events, the page was covered in hearts; some simple, some more elaborately sketched.

He wrote Roxas' name; it was very to everyone to whom his affections were for. He slowly traced his finger along the letters. They were written perfectly. Perfect, much like his Roxas...

As the teacher stood at the front of the room, repeating the same lesson about conjugating verbs as yesterday, only one phrase he had learned in this class had meaning to him, as he wrote the name in scrawling letters again: _Je t'aime..._

Zexion's fingers danced across the keyboard of the computer. Today's programming lesson was too easy, again; he had finished it in less than twenty minutes. This meant that he could do as he liked on the computer for the rest of the class. Well, it wasn't an official rule, per say, but he sat with his computer screen facing the wall, making it difficult for the teacher to see what he was doing unless they made it very obvious.

Zexion remembered that at the bottom of the letter Yuffie had given him, there was a web address for the photographers. _Might as well see what we're getting in to,_ he thought as he pulled out the folded piece of paper and typed in the address. A moment passed while the screen loaded, but then a simply-designed webpage was brought up.

Zexion scrolled down the page, reading what was posted there. _Nothing too interesting,_ he deliberated, but mentally noted to tell his friends what he had learned about their upcoming adventure of...Saturday? Yes, he glanced down at the paper again. It was in two days time.

Riku was tilted back in his chair in English class, trying to keep himself awake as he 'read' the book the teacher had assigned. He wondered what would keep him awake long enough to hear the bell ring. Lazily, he tossed his head to one side, eyes falling on Sora's form a few desks over; the brunette was reading the book lying on his desk, head propped up on one hand.

_Sora..._ The two of them had been best friends since before they had started school and met everyone else. Riku could still remember the day they first met...probably because it was one of the happiest days of his life.

_Riku was running down the white, sandy beach, as fast as his young feet could carry him. He glanced behind him for a second and yelped as he saw Selphie still pursuing him, a flowery dress in hand._

_"Ri-iku!" She called, amidst a fit of giggles, "C'mon! You'd make such a pretty girl!" But soon her voice was lost to the crashing of the waves as Riku ran into the ocean. There was another small, cliff-like island up ahead, and Riku knew there was a ladder on the other side that he could climb up to escape the clutches of Selphie. _

_He quickly paddles though the water until his small hand grasped the wooden ladder. He climbed up a few rungs, paused to shake the water from his silvery hair, and pulled himself up onto the island. A moment later he had straightened up to see...he wasn't alone on the island. _

_"What!" Riku, startled, began to tip backwards…off the edge of the island! He braced himself to fall, but someone grabbed his hand a moment too late; they were both plunged down into the cool, clear water below._

_Riku surfaced momentarily, and once again shook his head to clear the water. Pushing the wet strands from his eyes, Riku saw who had tried to save him: a boy, about his own age, with cinnamon-colored hair that stood up even in its wet condition, and the most brilliantly blue eyes that Riku had ever seen. "S-sorry!" Riku stuttered, slightly awestruck._

_The boy grinned, "That's okay!" He swam back up to the ladder and scaled it quickly, reaching down to help pull Riku up as he did the same. "What's your name?"_

_"Riku," he replied as once again he stood on the island, careful to not fall in a second time. _

_"I'm Sora!" the brunette cheerfully countered, and Riku couldn't help but smile back._

Sora was bent over his English book, trying to maintain the illusion that he was reading, though he was very much aware of Riku's eyes on him. Not that he minded; no, it was very much the opposite. Sora had always taken pride in the fact that Riku paid so much attention to him, and today it seemed that Riku was completely focused on Sora, even when he _should_ have been working.

Sora blushed, in spite of himself. Riku was his best friend, and would be forever, he was sure. Thinking back to the day they had first met, Sora recalled how they had shared a Paopu fruit that very same day...he laughed quietly at the memory.

_As the sun was setting on Destiny Island, Sora and Riku were sitting on a bent tree trunk, looking out over the ocean._

_"Hey, Riku, what's that?" Sora pointed up into one of the trees, where a yellow, star-shaped object was hanging. _

_"Oh, it's a Paopu fruit," Riku stood up and jumped a little to reach it, some of the leaves falling down as he plucked it from the tree. He sat back down on the tree-bench, laughing as he brushed a few leaves out of Sora's hair. "Wanna share it?" Riku split the fruit into two pieces, and handed half to Sora._

_"Uh...sure!" Sora complied, not wanting to disappoint his new friend. He glanced at the sweet-smelling fruit in his hands, then up at Riku, and bit into the juicy star without any more hesitation._

Riku saw Sora laugh lightly, and glared at the book he was reading. How _dare_ historical fiction make his Sora laugh! He paused, realizing what he had just thought, but then the shrill ring of the bell woke him up from his daydreams.

The last classes of the day went by uneventfully, and soon the six boys regrouped outside the front school gates.

"So Roxas," Tidus asked quietly as they prepared to leave, "You told Axel yet?"

"Told Axel what?" Axel himself spun around from where he had been talking to Sora.

_Whoa..._ Roxas thought, slightly unnerved, _Does he have sonar hearing or something?_ "Uh..." he stalled, until Tidus cut him off.

"About Namine! That girl has been staring at Roxas nonstop today, and when he talked to her, she said she was in love with him!" Tidus continued to ramble on about modesty and other lost qualities, but nobody seemed to hear him.

Roxas, wincing, looked up at Axel; just as he feared, a look of anger--and jealousy?--was across his friend's face. "Axel-?" Roxas asked, uselessly hoping his friend wasn't about to do the inevitable

Axel, feeling fury creeping though his veins, glanced around the empty schoolyard. _There,_ he thought, as he ran from his friends, _That Kairi girl..._ "FEMALE!" he shouted, and surprisingly she turned to look at him. Before she could say a word, he sputtered, "Namine...Tenth grader...Where?" Kairi, startled, pointed towards the side of the school, where a single blonde girl was about to turn the corner. Wordlessly, Axel ran after her, his friends tailing him from a distance.

"Hey!" Axel shouted, and Namine turned to spot him; the color drained from her face.

"Y-yeah?" she stuttered, obviously trying to sound tough, but failing miserably.

Axel glanced over his shoulder briefly; he still had a minute before the others caught up. "The name's Axel. Axel," he repeated, glaring daggers at the girl, "Got it memorized?" She nodded slightly, and he continued. "Stay away from Roxas, you hear me, girly? He's _mine_." She backed up a step as the others arrived.

"Axel, what's..." Roxas trailed off as Axel slipped an arm around his waist, and led the group away.

"Nothin', we're done here," Axel murmured. He was very much aware of the livid anger on Namine's face, he just didn't care. He had Roxas, and that was all that really mattered.

---

**A/N: **As you may be able to tell, Axel isn't very good with girls. Haha. I really wanted to write a scene with just the two of them, so...the closest way I could do that was to just keep the others quiet! Also, just a note, but I don't think it will be mentioned: later on after Sora and Riku met, the wooden bridge was built to the Paopu Island. That's why Riku and Selphie didn't use it in the flashback. Okay, so please, PLEASE review! My favorite thing is seeing messages from people who enjoyed my story. Even anonymous reviews are fine! Just words of encouragement are all that's needed. So, until next time!


	4. Sundance

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything. I never have. Kingdom Hearts included.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for so many nice reviews! It seems you all really liked Axel's scene...I have to admit, that was one of my finer writing moments! I tried to give him the same sort of wit in this chapter too. Also, all the other chapters I wrote on paper first, and then typed up. That usually helps me organize my writing. This chapter, however, was all on computer. So let me know if you noticed a difference, and whether it was good or bad...I found out that it's really hard to focus while writing on computer, that's for sure. So...many...interesting...things! Seriously, you guys are great. I love re-reading my reviews; it inspires me to write more! (hint, hint..)

Please pardon Zexion's language in the latter part of this chapter. He is a very bad boy and will be punished accordingly. -evil smile-

So, now, enjoy!

---

**Chemical Kisses**

**Chapter Four: **Sundance

It was Friday, the last day before the weekend started, and the best day for skipping school. That was exactly what Riku had in mind, too, as he sat on his front porch lacing up his shoes. He glanced up at the lazy, shapeless clouds that were dappled in the sky over Destiny Islands; it was the perfect weather for, perhaps, a day at the beach? He stood up and slung his nearly-empty backpack over one shoulder, brushed his frosty hair neatly behind him, and stepped onto the sidewalk. He peered down the road, lined with red-roofed houses, but didn't see Sora waiting on his front lawn as usual...

He frowned, knowing well enough that his friend would never leave for school without him...so where could he be? Riku paced past six silent houses and crossed the empty street until he came up to an extravagant and lofty house; this was, of course, where Sora lived. Alone, most of the time, as his parents spent almost all their time overseas. Riku pressed his head against the dark oak doors, listening for any sounds of life inside - there were none. He opened the door -it was unlocked, as usual- and stepped inside; he hadn't bothered to knock when he entered the house for several years. Looking across the large entryway, Riku saw Sora's yellow, black and navy shoes propped neatly in front of the closet. He sighed, and dropped his backpack down by the front door. Judging by what he saw, Sora hadn't even woken up yet.

He crossed the dark marble floor, glancing around. Sora's parents were, evidently, not home, but Riku hadn't expected them to be. Quietly, he padded up the carpeted stairs to the hallway that led to Sora's room. The window at the end of the long hall was open, and a breeze skirted past him; Riku chuckled to himself, _Sora, don't you ever worry that some stranger might just walk right in here?_

The third door from the end on the right side was open, and Riku walked to it. It was a library, and between the countless dusty shelves there was an open window, with a long bench in front on it. Riku laughed; Sora was asleep there, leaning against the window frame. He walked over and leaned against a shelf, watching the boy sleep, his cinnamon hair ruffled by the wind. Riku knew he should wake him up, but...he was tempted to just leave him there. Against better judgment, though, Riku shook Sora's shoulder gently. "Hey, c'mon, wake up."

Sora stirred, and slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at Riku groggily, "Huh? Riku?" He sat up and rubbed his very blue eyes, "What time is it?"

"See for yourself," Riku pointed at the clock on the wall; it read 8:15.

"WHAT!" Sora jumped up and ran from the room. Riku chuckled again; he knew they were already a few minutes late, but that didn't matter. After all, he didn't even plan on going to classes today. He sat himself down where Sora had been a moment before; the spot was still warm from his body heat. Looking out through the window, Riku had a good view of the island, in all its oceanic glory, as it woke up. The sun was just above the horizon, giving the whole town a light-blue gleam, and there were several people out walking down the main roads. Riku sighed wistfully, leaning back and closing his eyes, listening to the dull hush of the ocean outside, and the thump of Sora's feet as he ran around the house...

He opened his eyes what seemed like a few moments later. _Did I fall asleep? _he wondered, standing up and stretching. _Oh, _he looked at the clock: 9:24. _Guess I did. _Riku walked back into the hall and looked around. Where was Sora?

He crept down the stairs silently, until he heard a faint noise...ah, the television was on. Riku entered the dimly lit room where Sora sat, watching cartoons and eating...potato chips? "Sora, you shouldn't eat those so early in the morning. It's gross," he added as he sat down next to his friend, and helped himself to some chips as well. Sora smirked and flipped through the channels. They sat there for a while, simply watching daytime TV, school all but forgotten.

The doorbell rang, eventually, and both boys looked towards the door. "I'll go get it," Riku sighed, rose to open the front entrance. He squinted, momentarily blinded by the bright light from the outdoors, but his eyes quickly adjusted to see who was there. "Oh, hey guys."

"Uh, Riku? Isn't this _Sora's_ house, not yours?" Axel asked with a sly grin as the four stepped inside. Zexion, Roxas and Tidus headed in where Sora was, while Axel stayed with Riku. Once the others were out of hearing distance, he turned to his silver-haired friend. "So...?"

"So nothing," Riku replied shortly, obviously knowing the intent of his words, "Sora slept in so I came over and woke him up. Then I fell asleep waiting for him, and...Hey, wait, why are you all here, anyway?" They _should_ have been halfway through their second classes by now...well, it wasn't like it really mattered.

"It was really boring without the two of you, so Tidus suggested we came for a visit! We thought we might have been missing out on something _fun,_" Axel smiled, feigning innocence, "But, I guess we weren't. How disappointing..." He turned to go see the others, "But, you know, Riku, you're really falling behind on your half of the deal. I'm getting Roxas without your help, and you and Sora..." he looked back over his shoulder, making a thumbs-down gesture, "I can only do so much to help you, you know."

"Yeah," Riku sighed, following him, "I know..."

About an hour later, the six boys were outside, heading for the docks. They had decided that since the best beach on the island was behind the school, it ran the risk of being caught for skipping...so a better plan was to go to one of the other islands. Though, they now faced a problem...nobody had any money to rent a boat.

"Hm," Axel was surveying the area from behind a dumpster near the boat rental service. The other five stood nearby, waiting for him. Axel was always good at formulating plans. "Okay," he said, walking over to them, "We'll split up into three groups. Sora and Tidus, you two are gonna sneak into that building right there," he pointed to a shack where you went to rent the boats, "And take the key for boat seven. Seven, okay? Got it memorized?"

The two nodded, but Sora piped up, "But, Axel, won't that old guy catch us?" He pointed to an old man patrolling the docks, who passed by the entrance to the building every few minutes.

"Yes, well, Roxas and I will be distracting him while you go inside," Axel smiled devilishly at the blonde as he said his name. "Oh, and Riku and Zexion, you two will wait by the boat."

"Wow, I feel _really_ useful," Zexion stated sarcastically as the two grudgingly walked towards one of the largest boats with a large '7' painted on the side.

Axel ignored then, and turned to Sora and Tidus. "Go in when the old guy notices us, okay?" He gave them a thumbs up, grabbed Roxas' hand and pulled the surprised boy over to the docks.

"So, uh, what kind of distraction did Axel mean?" Tidus wondered out loud, as they watched their friends casually walk across the docks. Roxas looked up at Axel and asked him something. Axel replied and they both laughed. The old man eyed them suspiciously. Axel had Roxas pinned up against the side of a building- wait, what? "Oh..." Tidus trailed off, his question answered.

"C'mon," Sora said, staving off laughter, "We gotta get the key." The two dashed down towards the door of the building, seeing the old man briskly headed towards the spot where it seemed Axel was ravishing Roxas. The door was unlocked, Sora found, and they dashed inside. Luckily, the old man had all the boat keys neatly hanging up, with numbers over them. Tidus snatched the set of keys labeled '7', and they left as quickly as they had come.

Apparently Axel had seen them leave, because he and Roxas quickly ditched the old man (who was lecturing them on proper public conduct,) and ran back to the dumpster. "Got it?" Roxas asked, panting - but not from the running.

"Yeah, come on," Tidus led them to where Zexion and Riku were waiting, concealed behind the boats.

"Nice distraction, guys!" Zexion congratulated them as they walked up, and started climbing into the motor boat. Axel sat in the captain's seat, the symbolism obvious, and ran his hand through his mussed hair, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Riku glanced at Sora, who was laughing with a very flushed Roxas. _Humph, _he moped, _why couldn't _we_ have been the distraction?_ "Too bad me and Zex didn't get to help with anything," he said to Axel, voicing his displeasure. Zexion turned and nodded in agreement.

"Oh, but I have a plan you yet!" Axel smiled at them, "We can't have the old man knowing we took his boat, so..." he pointed to some paddles off to one side, "Start rowing!" Zexion and Riku obviously were about to protest, but Axel waved a finger at them. "Ah, no complaints. Your captain is commanding you!" He swiveled around in his chair to face the open ocean, "Set sail, crew!"

The two picked up the paddles and sighed, starting to move the boat despite their objections. "Hey, Roxas..." Sora turned to his friend after a while, but Roxas didn't reply. He was staring up at Axel, a dreamy look on his face...Sora grinned. He leaned over to the dazed boy, paused, then shouted, "ROXAS!" right in his ear. Roxas yelped, and fell off his seat on the bench onto the floor of the boat. Everyone looked back at him; he sat up and blushed. Axel, however, could tell what he had been thinking about.

"Oh, Roxas," he asked, spinning around in his chair, "Wanna come sit up here with the captain?" He smiled at the flustered look on the blonde's face.

"N-no, that's oka-" He was cut off as Axel walked over and picked him up, bridal-style, and carried him to the front of the boat, finally sitting him down on his lap. Roxas still looked embarrassed, but didn't seem to mind as Axel wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him closer.

"Oh, Grunt-boys," Axel added, referring to Riku and Zexion, "You can stop paddling down and start the motor." He then focused his attention back on Roxas, oblivious to everyone else.

Riku, gratefully, tossed the paddle back into the boat and leaned back on one of the benches; Zexion did the same. Riku stared up at the sky as he heard Sora and Tidus start the motor up at the back of the boat. _Damn,_ he thought, watching the clouds rush by, _I really am losing the challenge. _He sat up quickly, a thought occurring to him. Who was steering the boat? But he rolled his eyes when he looked up to the 'captain'; he had one hand on the steering wheel, while the other was wrapped around Roxas. A feat only possible by Axel.

Riku rolled onto his stomach and faced the back of the boat. Sora was sitting cross-legged on the back bench, an arm resting on the side of the boat as he stared blankly out to sea. Riku folded his arms and rested his head down, only his eyes peeking up at his favorite brunette. "So-ra," he called, getting his attention.

"Hm?" Sora looked over at him innocently.

Sighing, Riku sat up. "I'm bored," he declared, silver hair tangling in the breeze.

"Well, what do you want _me _to do about it?" Sora turned his gaze lazily back towards the water. _Oh, several things..._ Riku thought, only glad that Sora didn't see the grin that crossed his face.

"C'mere."

Sora looked back to Riku, who was motioning for him to go over. _O-kay,_ he thought, moving over to sit with him.

Riku smiled. He pulled Sora closer, glad when he didn't protest. "Sora..." he murmured, running an hand through the brunette's hair, "You like me, right?"

"Y-yeah," _Oh, brilliant answer,_ Sora thought to himself, _Words, Sora! Use your words! That's why you go to school, isn't it? To learn them!_ Although, now didn't seem to be the best time for talking, as Riku had gently pressed his lips against Sora's. _Oh..._ He felt his brain shut down. There seemed to be nothing left to do but to return the kiss...

"Oh, God DAMNIT!" Zexion's voice interrupted them. Riku looked up and glared fiery hate across the boat - he was just getting started! Oh, Zexion would pay for that...yes, he would. Axel turned, too, obviously livid as well; Roxas' arms were around his neck and it was apparent that steering the boat wasn't his main priority. "This isn't the fuckin' Love Boat!" Zexion continued, not picking up on the irony of what he had said, "At least wait 'till we get there and _then_ you can all go off and...continue your activities." It wasn't that he had a problem with his friends being together, but it was quite awkward sitting there by himself; he had no plans to start snogging Tidus, and vice versa.

"Fine..." Riku grumbled and moved away from Sora, quite unwillingly. He gave the brunette a look that clearly said, "_We'll continue this later_," before turning to gaze over the water, moping.

Sora blushed, his brain reviving. Riku had just...kissed him? Whoa. Lately It had become obvious what Riku was trying to do, and Sora was pretty sure he liked it...he shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Copying Riku, he started to sulk, letting his hand dangle into the water as they jetted past.

He sighed. "Are we there yet?"

---

**A/N:** So there you have it! A spoonful of RoxasxAxel, and a pinch of SoraxRiku. I had nothing else to do all day but work on this, as I'm getting a cold! That's not fun, as I'm sure you will all agree. But, at least that means I'll have much more time for writing while I am confined to staying home! Think of the silver lining, kiddies!

I think there are a few good, funny parts in there...so those are dedicated to all you FABULOUS people who reviewed! Now, I must be off to punish Zexion for his potty mouth...oh, fun times!


	5. Avarice

**Chemical Kisses**

Chapter 5: Avarice

_Have you ever tasted something so sweet, so delicious, that you can't even think straight until you've had more? It happened to me once before today, when I was ten; the house across the street from where I lived had a plant growing at the front of their garden. What was it called...Honeysuckle? Something like that. Only hummingbirds would drink the nectar inside its flowers. I walked past their house one day and I saw two hummingbirds hovering around the plant; curious, I ran across their lawn to see what was happening. The birds flew away, but they left behind dozens of the sunset-colored flowers. I guess the people who lived there weren't home, because nobody noticed when I plucked the top of the flower from the green, leafy branch, and carefully squeezed the liquid it contained onto the tip of my finger. It looked like regular water, but sparkled in the sunlight. Entranced, I tasted it; if birds could eat it, why couldn't I? _

_I decided that this nectar must have been made for the gods. It was a sweet ambrosia that reminded me of honey, brown sugar, and strangely enough, Paopu fruits. The taste lingered on my tongue for a few seconds before dissipating; well, that certainly wasn't enough. I took a few more...then, all of a sudden, the plant was empty, and I was surrounded by empty flower shells. I didn't know what to do - if I was caught, I'd be in sooo much trouble! I quickly buried the wilted flowers in the garden, around the original bare plant, and ran across the street to my house. _

_I met my mom inside, and she was suspicious as to why my hands were sticky and I smelled like flowers and sweetness. I told her some lie - that I had been eating popsicles with my friends, or something like that, - and dashed up to my room. I sat in the front window, watching the sad green plant from afar. It must have been hours I sat there, licking my fingertips, trying to recapture some of the addicting taste; I saw the family who lived there pull up into the driveway eventually. There was a commotion as they noticed that their bursting orange flowers were gone, but soon they went inside and forgot about it, I suppose. But I didn't. _

_Even after the plant died, and the family moved away a few months later, I thought about the flowers. Every day, when my mom questioned me as to why I smelled so sweet, even though I hadn't eaten any of the glorious nectar, I thought about the flowers. I became so obsessive with tasting something like that again, I stopped eating any foods that didn't taste sweet - that didn't last very long, though. Eventually I gave up, deciding that the world was a cruel place where sugary flowers no longer existed. _

_Like most ten-year-olds, though, I eventually forgot about it. Disappointment does that to you, I guess. I went years without thinking about the prized honeysuckle, as I doubted I would ever taste anything so sweet again. That is, until I kissed him. And just like the flowers, I couldn't get enough._

They arrived at the island about twenty minutes after Zexion's outburst. Tidus gazed out; It was as bright out as ever, and the Paopu trees were swaying in the ocean breezes - it was picturesque, and the group would've been awestruck if they all hadn't seen it a million times before. He looked back at his friends in the boat as one of them turned off the motor. _Why aren't they getting out? Oh, that's right. Nobody knows how to park this tank. _

Axel was swiveled around in his chair, trying to decide who would get out and push. "Okay," he said, rubbing his forehead, "Let me get this straight. Riku, you and Zexion can't push the boat because you're still tired from rowing? It's been, like, an hour already! Three words, fellas: Suck. It. Up."

Zexion flipped his hair nonchalantly, staying seated. "Here's an idea," he sneered, "Why don't _you_ get out there and push?" Evidently, his sour mood had persisted from earlier.

Axel scoffed. "Me? As if!" _Oh, man, _Tidus thought, _Axel's being...sassy! _"I'm the Captain," he lisped, "I don't _do_ manual labor." Axel glanced at Roxas for a split second, then added, "Well, not _that_ kind, at least." _Oh, god._

"Uh, I'll try," Everyone looked over as Roxas stood up and walked to the back of the boat. Axel started to protest, but was cut off as Sora stood up too.

"Yeah, I'll help you," the brunette dived off the back of the boat, followed closely by Roxas. Riku and Axel were now both trying to convince the two that they should get back in the boat, obviously flustered. They hadn't planned on _those_ two volunteering.

Tidus sighed, and looked around the boat. Angry Axel. Angry Riku. Angry Zexion. "Incoming!" he shouted, hurtling off the side into the water. Now, the three in the ocean were sufficiently soaked, and began to push the watercraft up to the dock. It was heavier than they expected, and it didn't help that Axel was running back and forth across the boat, babbling about how Roxas was going to drown - in four feet of water, no less - and he would become a widow.

"Hey, captain," Roxas glared up, a dark look of annoyance lingering in his eyes, "Sit down and _be quiet_." The group fell silent for a moment, until Sora burst out laughing. His sincerity was almost overwhelming. Axel turned to Roxas with a hurt look, which melted into puppy-dog eyes. Upon receiving no sympathy, however, the redhead wandered back to his seat to sulk. Roxas chuckled, back to his original mood. It was obvious that Axel was faking it, just for attention. He wasn't about to get any, though, as they still had to move the boat...

After much hard work on Sora, Tidus and Roxas' behalf, the six boys were sprawled around the beach, savoring the sunlight and ocean breezes. Sora was laying in the white sand, almost drifting off to sleep...but he had a strange premonition that something was out of place, so he called over to the one person he knew could fix it. "Hey, Roxas?"

"Hm?" The blonde lazily responded, as he sat a few feet away, watching the clouds pass by overhead.

"You should go apologies to Axel."

That caught Roxas' attention. "What? Why?" he looked over to where the redhead was sitting, across the beach on the rooftop of the seaside shack, hugging his knees as he stared out to sea with a vacant expression. "Oh...he _does_ look kind of pitiful..."

Sora was silent for a moment; Roxas wondered if he really _had_ fallen asleep. Finally, he spoke again. "I think you hurt his feelings."

_How can Sora be so perceptive when he's half-conscious?_ "Ah, yeah...I guess I'll go talk to him." Roxas paused for a moment before he pulled himself up, brushed off the sand, and trailed over to the wooden building.

Sora heard him climb onto the roof with Axel. _Hmm..._ his mental radar told him that Tidus was sitting on the edge of the docks, and Zexion was up somewhere around the tree house...but where was Riku? The brunette opened his eyes and sat up, scanning the island with his cobalt orbs. _Oh._ Riku was over on the Paopu island. Sora stood up and stretched, still drowsy from the intense sunlight. He put his hands in his pockets and headed for the wooden bridge.

"Axel?" Roxas finally spoke up, after the two sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the waves. The blonde rested his head on Axel's shoulder before softly saying, "Did I hurt your feelings? 'Cause, i'm sorry if I did..."

He waited...no response. _Axel...?_ He lifted his head and looked at his friend. He was...smiling? No, wait - Roxas tried to back away, but was too late.

"Oh, Roxas!" Axel leaped over and pounced on him, grinning and nuzzling his cheek, "You are just the sweetest thing!" Roxas half-heartedly tried to push him off, laughing; he could see it was another resistance-is-futile scenario, as it usually was with Axel. "So sweet," Axel continued, shifting into a more comfortable position of straddling Roxas, "I could just eat you up..." He tilted the blonde's head up slightly before closing the gap between their lips.

Roxas knew this would happen, in fact, he quite expected it when he first came over to sit with him...so naturally, he returned the kiss with enthusiasm. Axel grinned at the quick response and deepened the kiss, running his tongue along Roxas' lips briefly before getting what he was asking for. Instinctively, Roxas furled his hands into the redheads' locks, pulling him closer. _Mm..._ Axel's last thoughts were fleeting,_ sweeter than honey..._

Sora crossed the bridge to the lone island, where his silver-haired friend was perched on a bent Paopu tree. He paused, wondering whether it was a good idea to interrupt him; Riku seemed so deep in thought. Glancing back at the beach, he saw Roxas and Axel were already making out, while Zexion and Tidus seemed to be dueling down near the water. _Eh, well..._ Sora walked forward and hopped up onto the tree trunk. Riku didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, Sora..." Oh, he _did _notice.

"Yeah?"

Riku paused for a second, as if struggling with words. "You said before that you liked me, but I don't think you understood what I meant..." his voice trailed off as Sora looked over. _Understand...?_

"Sora..." Riku loved saying that name, "We've been best friends forever, so of course you _like_ me, but I..." He sighed. "Damnit, I love you, Sora."

Sora's breath caught shortly in his throat; he knew where Riku was going with the conversation, but still...he got a warm feeling in his heart as he said those words. The brunette slid down closer to Riku and leaned up against him, simply whispering, "I understood."

---


	6. Misfits

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Kingdom Hearts. Never, never!

**Author's Note:** Well! This chapter took me much longer to type up than it should have. I really owe an explanation for the last chapter, too. I had the flu, and had taken a lot of cold medicine when I wrote that…also, I forgot a disclaimer and note. I'm simply ashamed of myself.

This chapter is shorter than I originally wrote it, but that is because I decided to divide it up in to two parts (meaning I can't think of a good ending for the chapter, so here's the first half.) I don't mean to be a lazy author, I just have a lot of things going on. Also, it's my birthday this weekend! Fwee! So hopefully I will add another chapter over the next two days. If it's of any importance to y'all, I'm going to try and update on **Tuesdays** from now on, but I'll update my profile if something goes wrong.

Enough talking, I say! Story time!

…

**Chemical Kisses**

Chapter 6: Misfits

Several hours passed on the isolated island until the sun had started to set and the tide came in. The boys found themselves faced with a problem; try and find their way back to the main island in the dark, or stake out where they were for the night, and take whatever consequences their families dealt out for their unexplained disappearances.

"Tomorrow's Saturday," Zexion stated as the six sat on the island's only dock, watching the skies as the sun sank behind saffron clouds, "Don't we have to do that photo shoot thing?"

"Mm, yeah," Sora replied lightly. He had no qualms about staying on the island overnight, as there was no one waiting for him to arrive back on the mainland.

Roxas leaned back against Axel, grinning. "That's gonna be fun. But, uh, Zexion? You had the letter, right? When do we have to be there for?" He knew if it was too early, they would never be able to get there in time.

Zexion thought for a moment, recalling the information Yuffie had given him the day before. "Don't worry, not till mid-afternoon." He lay back on the wooden planks of the dock, looking up at the dimming sky. "So…we gonna stay here overnight?"

"I don't trust Axel's boat driving skills in the dark," Riku laughed, "So I suppose we are. That's okay with everybody, right?" _It would really be suicide to try and navigate home in the dark, Axel in charge or not._

Sora nodded cheerfully, followed by agreements from Tidus, Axel and Zexion. Roxas hesitated. "Uh…it's okay, I guess, but Larxene's home alone for the weekend, so she'll probably freak out again if I don't show up…" His sister had a tendency to obsess over him, especially when their parents were away, leaving her in charge.

"Aw, that's okay," Axel grinned, ruffling the blonde's messy hair, "We'll protect you from her wrath! Ah," he paused, "No, wait, just me. I'll protect you. I will be…your knight in shining armor. Your Hercules—yes, I will be your Casanova!" He glomped on to Roxas amidst a fit of giggles.

Riku sighed, smiling and shaking his head. "He'll never grow up, will be?"

"No," Roxas laughed as he was assaulted by the redhead, "But I'd be really weird if he did."

"Hah, yeah…" Riku murmured, brushing his wind strewn bangs back from his eyes, before glancing towards Tidus. "Hey, Ti, what's up? You've been quiet."

"Huh? Ah, nothin'," he shrugged, "Just thinking. So, uh, what are we all gonna do for Spring Break?" They had exactly one week until the holiday.

"Huh?" Sora's eyes lit up, and he swung his legs over the edge of the dock enthusiastically, "Didn't I tell you? Zexion said he'd take us all over to Twilight Town!" he grinned his patented smile, "Won't that be cool?"

"Twilight Town…" Roxas' thoughts drifted momentarily, "I haven't been back there since I moved away, like, nine years ago." He looked up at his friends. "No, no! I want to go!" He quickly corrected, seeing their worried glances, "I don't even remember what it was like. It'd definitely be cool."

"Hn," Axel nuzzled the blonde in front of him affectionately. "If Roxas wants to go then so do I."

_That's predictable._ "Riku? Tidus? What about you guys?" Sora turned towards them before yawning briefly.

"Well…" Riku shuffled over a little so he could gently wrap his arms around his tired friend, "Yeah, I'll go."

"I'll have to check with my family first," Tidus remarked to no one in particular, "I think they wanted to go somewhere else, but maybe I can blow that off…"

"Cool." Zexion leaned back, propping himself up on his elbows. The sun had set quickly, he noticed, and now very little daylight was evident. "I'll call Hayner tomorrow an' make sure they'll all be there when we go."

…

The boys had moved onto the beach after Riku had lost a massive competition of Rock-Paper-Scissors and was forced to build a small bonfire with whatever driftwood was left along the shore. It was cooler at night than in the day on the islands, and even more so near the water, so the six sat close to the flames as they passed the time.

"Okay, Tidus, choose:" Axel started the game that they had started playing years ago, "Would you rather give up playing Blitzball forever, or…get all makey-outy with Selphie?"

Tidus grimaced, "Fangirl Selphie? Ugh…well, I wouldn't give up Blitzball _ever_, so I guess I'd sacrifice my dignity, yeah." The two laughed lightly; fangirl threats were only used as a last resort among the group.

"So, my turn. Uh…get a tattoo on your face, or eat a…a parrot!" Tidus seemed satisfied with his ideas, though Axel looked at him as if he was insane.

"Eat a _parrot_?" The redheads' laughter pierced the quiet sounds of the night. "Where did _that_ come from?"

"I…dunno. Just choose!" Tidus huffed, "And I meant a raw parrot, too."

"You're really messed up, you know?" He thought for a moment, "Uh, I'd get the tattoos. Raw poultry isn't really my thing."

The blonde smirked. "Oh, yeah? I bet you wouldn't say that if you really had to choose and actually do it."

Axel looked over deviously, "Is that…a challenge?" Tidus nodded. "Alright then. Monday, after school, I'll get tattooed, but you…you have to really make out with Selphie, before school gets out."

Tidus shuddered. "Somehow, I think you have it easier."

"It's true, I do. Plus, mine's cooler." He fell silent for a moment, before continuing. "Okay, choose…"

"No, _you_ choose," Zexion's annoyed voice cut their conversation short, "Go to sleep, or start swimming home."

They looked about. _Oh, damn._ Everyone else was asleep already. Sora and Riku were leaning against each other a few feet away from the fire; Zexion, perched on the bank, seemed to have dozed off again while sitting up – it looked like he was watching over everyone, like a statue. Roxas was curled up in the sand, much like how a cat would sleep.

Axel finally nodded a wordless goodnight to Tidus and shuffled over to Roxas, wrapping his arms around him protectively before giving in to fatigue with a sigh of contentment.

Tidus moved closer to the fire and stretched out. _Hmm. Photo shoot tomorrow, making out with Selphie on Monday, and Twilight Town the week after. _ He sighed, eyelids drooping lower each minute. _Sounds like fun._

…

_Riku…Riku!_

_Huu…_Was this a dream? Riku tightened his grip around the warm brunette beside him, nuzzling his face into the spiky cinnamon locks. "Mmm…"

"Riku!" The call came much louder the second time, and managed to wake him further. He mumbled something incoherently and clung on to sleep a moment longer… "I can't breathe, damnit!"

Riku sat up quickly and released his friend from his clutches. "Omigosh, sorry Sora!" He panicked, more from the stun of suddenly waking up than the actual situation. "Are you okay!"

Sora straightened up and stretched, "I'll be fine, as long as you never say 'omigosh' ever again, okay?" he laughed and glanced at the sleeping forms of their other friends; it was dawn, but they didn't need to wake up yet.

Riku began to blush before he could collect his composure. _Curse my girly tendencies._ "Yeah, okay. Sorry," he repeated.

"S'okay." Sora eventually stood up, careful to be quiet so as to not wake up the others. "Riku," he whined softly, adding an adorable pout for effect, "I'm hungry. We haven't eaten since Zexion tried to feed us those sea urchins last night, and those totally didn't count."

Riku smiled. He loved it when Sora was dependant of him, which didn't happen as often as one would think. "Well then," he gracefully leapt up, "Let's go get some Paopus." Interlacing their fingers, he led Sora towards the second island.

Paopus held a certain sacredness to most of the islanders, but not to Sora and Riku. They had shared the fruits on several occasions all their lives, and it had no obvious meaning between them, aside from being a reminder of their fierce friendship.

As the two collected a few of the star-shaped plants and proceeded to divide each in half (as they always did), the sun inched its way up to the sky. It must have been very early still.

"All we ever do is watch the sun move," Riku remarked, biting into one half of a fruit. _It's true, though,_ he thought, _Sunrise, sunset._

"Well, we do other stuff too," Sora countered, sucking the fruit juice off his fingertips. "But…there isn't much to do around here, I guess." He started on another piece of Paopu.

"Hm, well, I can think of a few things…" Riku grinned slyly, eying the brunette with a sidelong glance…

"You know, fruit like Paopus are actually tree ovaries." The two turned to the source of the voice, Axel, followed by the three others. Riku internally uttered a long string of obscenities. Always interrupted…wasn't Axel supposed to be _helping_ him with this?

"G'morning," Sora greeted them, cheerful as always, and held out a Paopu to Axel. "Would you like a tree ovary, then?"

The redhead blinked; he hadn't expected verbal retaliation. "Um, sure." He took the fruit and broke it in half, automatically handing one piece to Roxas; he naturally assumed that he would want some. The blonde hesitated—he had heard every rumor about the Paopus, too—but shrugged and ate it anyway. _Whatever._

For nearly an hour they sat around the sandy island, munching on fruit. "Hey, Zexion," Riku spoke up, a malicious tone to his voice, "Why aren't you and Tidus sharing one of 'Destiny Island's national fruit'?"

Zexion blandly looked over at Tidus, who shrugged. "He's not my type," he replied flatly, and the blonde nodded. Riku smirked. _Yeah. It'd be weird if they liked each other._

'Uh, guys. We should probably go back to the mainland now." Roxas spoke up suddenly, and the others turned to him.

"Why? What's up?" Axel popped the rest of his Paopu piece into his mouth, wiping the fruit juice off his hands on a convenient plant nearby.

"'Cause of them," Roxas pointed out to sea, where, to their dismay, a police boat was skimming along to the next island over. Apparently, the old man at the boat rentals had noticed their… 'borrowed' water craft was missing.

"Oh, shit." Axel jumped up and sprinted towards the boat, tailed by the other five, running just as quickly. They flew into their liberated vessel and went to their stations; Zexion and Sora at the back with the motor, Riku and Tidus in the middle doing nothing of obvious importance, Roxas perched on the bow on lookout, and Axel behind the steering wheel.

They pushed off from the dock as the 'captain' jammed the keys from his pocket to the dashboard. "Start the engine," he ordered, a tad more perplexed than the last time he commanded his crew.

"Axel, won't they hear us if we do? That engine's really loud," Roxas reminded him, glancing towards the next island; it was about three miles away at the most, and the sound of the engine would surely carry across the water.

"Yes, but otherwise we don't stand a chance of outrunning them." He nodded towards Zexion and Sora at the back of the boat, "Now, gun it!"

The two boys started the old-fashioned engine (odd, how such old technology was combined on the rather high-tech boat,) and soon the craft was flying across the sea. Axel steered towards the general direction of home, but soon Tidus called up to him. "Yo, captain! They're on our trail!" All eyes went to the horizon behind them, where the blue and red police cruiser was following them.

Axel stalled; he knew the consequences for stealing boats all too well, and he weighed it against their chances of escaping. He clutched the steering wheel determinedly, "Okay, now. Everyone hold on to something, quick!" he pulled back on the throttle, "We're going TURBO!" He set the boat forward at an immense pace that should have been impossible, which knocked the 'crew' back with an immense force.

Clinging on to seats, railings, and anything else that was secure, a single though flashed though the minds of each passenger: _Why is this maniac captain!_

…

**End Note:** Well! I hope that was satisfying in the least. Thank you everyone who reviewed, I really meant to reply to all of you but…I don't think I did. So I definitely will be replying to all you wonderful people who take the time to comment for this chapter!

'Till next time!

--Mayalen


	7. Into the Maelstrom

**Disclaimer: **There once was a duck from Sinclarks -- Who claimed that he owned Kingdom Hearts -- He woke up in his hut -- With lawsuits on his butt -- That stupid, un-dis-claiming duck from Sinclarks.

That basically means I don't own it.

I also don't own _Gamecube, Soul Calibur, _any of the characters from the games mentioned, or _Goldfish Crackers._ Well, I own them in the sense that they're all lost in my basement somewhere. But you know what I mean.

**Author's Note:** Ahhh! I haven't updated in far too long. I'm sorry, to all my readers. I could go into a long-winded excuse as to why I haven't updated, but I'll spare you and just say that I am sorry. I've already got most of the next chapter written, so it shouldn't take as long this time! I hope this turned out alright. Please, read on!

Also, you are all _brilliant _reviewers. Here's to 95 reviews, and over 6500 hits!

---

**Chemical Kisses**

_Chapter 7: Into the Maelstrom_

_---_

The voyage from the island to the mainland took, on average, about an hour. On this particular trip, however, the six distraught boys found themselves 'docked' at an abandoned beach on the east side of the mainland less than twenty minutes after they left the island. The boat was pulled up on shore--or at least it appeared that way. Truth be told, Axel hadn't been able to slow the craft down enough and they had shortly collided with the sandy bank. He nearly had a heart-attack when they made impact, as Roxas, who was still perched on the bow, was tossed off the boat towards the white-sanded beach. Luckily for his cat-like reflexes, the blonde flipped in mid-air to land neatly on the ground below. Axel yelped, a strange mixture of pride for the boy's athletic ability and concern for his safety, and clambered down to maul the object of his affections.

"Roxas! You should have been more careful!" He threw himself on to the blonde, knocking them both down to the ground. "You could've been killed!"

"Well, it was your fault for being a bad driver," Roxas smiled, but then looked back towards the boat. "What's everyone else doing back there?"

In the back of the open watercraft, the traumatized figures of Zexion, Sora, Tidus and Riku were sitting motionless. They were still recovering from the shock of the suicide-ride, heartbeats fluttering from residual adrenaline and exhilaration. Riku managed to find his voice first. "Wh-what the hell...just happened?"

"Don't know." Sora toppled over onto Riku, a dazed, vacant expression painted on his face, "Shut up and hold me." The two sat silently.

Tidus crawled out of the boat and crouched down in the sand, half way between the water and the light forest that separated them from the outskirts of town. He didn't say a word, just huddled by himself. _Never again. Never, never, never..._

Zexion was skittish; he glanced around nervously a few times before springing to the ground and making a bee-line for the closest wind-blown tree he saw. Grappling on to the trunk, he mumbled obscenities to himself. _Damnit,_ he thought, _Boat + Axel NO!_

"C-c'mon, guys," Axel grudgingly pulled himself up off of Roxas and helped him up as well. "We gotta jet. If the cops catch up while we're still here," he wrinkled his nose in displeasure, "Well, we won't make that photo shoot." Axel had always had an aversion to the law, and had no plans whatsoever of confronting it today.

Sora and Riku clambered from the boat and joined them, obviously still shaken, but almost recovered by the trauma. Wordlessly they regrouped; well, all but Zexion. The five had to pry their blue-haired friend from the weathered beach tree he had latched on to, but once that was accomplished they were all back to their old selves. With a quick check around the boat, making sure there was no evidence remaining that would give them away, Gang 6 hurried to put as much distance between them and the beach as possible.

"Well, uh, I'm going this way," Roxas pointed down a side-street off the main road they were walking down a while after leaving the beach, "Larxene's gonna eat my soul when I get home, so I better hurry and take the shortcut." It was quicker for Roxas to get to his house by cutting across a few backyards and through a thick forest, although he usually preferred to take the long way around as the shortcut was mostly uphill -- and slightly dangerous. "Two-thirty downtown, right Zex?"

Zexion nodded and was about to speak when Axel cut him off. "Roxas, want me to go with you? It's not safe in that forest! Remember that one time, a bunch of blue jays chased you all the way home, and I had to beat them away with a stick! You were almost carried away!" The redhead swooned dramatically, and proceeded to tell the story with much enthusiasm. "I thought you were going to live with the birds and grow wings and eat worms and chase other people forev--"

"Axel," Sora stopped him, "Roxas left."

Axel looked down the side road to see Roxas turn the corner and disappear. "Oh," he shrugged, "Alright then. Let's go." He continued their expedition towards their neighborhoods, despite their laughing at his simple-mindedness.

---

Tidus left the group second, directed towards his home near the south beaches. Soon after, Zexion and Axel departed, as they lived a few houses down from one another, leaving Sora and Riku alone for about two blocks more.

"So, Sora," Riku wrapped one arm around the brunette's waist as they walked, "Wanna come over to my house? You know, 'til we gotta leave?"

Sora shifted slightly in the embrace; it wasn't unpleasant, just...different. It was a bit unnerving going from best friends for years to...whatever they were turning in to. "Sure," he replied nonchalantly; it wasn't like he had anything better to do. "Can we play Gamecube?" Initiating puppy-dog eyes, he looked up at the silver-haired boy.

Riku sighed inwardly. Not what he had in mind, but... "Of course," he smiled, "I'll beat you at Soul Calibur, like always."

"Pssh," Sora scoffed, shrugging to one side, knocking Riku's arm away as lightly as he could. _One day at a time, dude. _"Are you sure you're thinking of the right game? _Soul Calibur?_ 'Cause I totally own you."

_Yeah, you do. _"Hah, sure, whatever." Riku laughed, trying to ignore the fact that he was so casually brushed off. He compensated by ruffling the shorter boy's cinnamon spikes affectionately.

The two trailed down a few dusty island streets until they faced the grey-stoned building that was Riku's house; though, he frowned as they stepped onto the wooden porch and saw a wind-blown note pinned to the front door. Riku pulled it down and read the messy scrawl.

'_Riku -- I'm going out shopping on another island for the day, back by 10. Hope you and Sora had fun last night, you stud! Your sister should be home about 9 AM today. Oh yeah, and you're grounded. Love, Mom.'_

"Charming." Riku crumbled up the note and tossed it over his shoulder - a lucky shot, as it landed in the trash can on the side of the house. Sora pushed the front door open, knowing it was never locked, and wandered inside, Riku following a moment later.

The door clicked quietly as Riku nudged it shut with his foot, and glanced around the front hall. The tacky floral mat on the floor, several pairs of shoes kicked up against the closet carelessly, two pictures on the wall slightly askew...what was missing? Oh, right. Damn.

"Sora?" Riku called out to the brunette who had disappeared into the kitchen, "I left my backpack at your place, so I'm gonna go get it, okay?"

"'kay," Sora's voice sounded distant; no doubt he was already rummaging through the cabinets looking for snackage. Riku rolled his eyes and pushed his way back outside.

---

The silverette hopped up the wide concrete steps of Sora's house and slammed the door open - or at least, he would have, if the massive oak door hadn't collided with an unsuspecting someone on the inside. _Oh, shit!_

"I'm so sorry!" Riku reached down to help up the person who had fallen flatly onto the marble floor of the entrance - not the softest landing. "I didn't see you there, Yuna!"

Yuna stood up, gingerly rubbing the spot where her forehead and the door had collided. The pretty brunette was the housekeeper at Sora's home, a job she had taken to earn money for university. She didn't look half the part her job implied, though, wearing jean shorts and a white t-shirt with the sleeves town off - not to mention the disturbingly long rattail-type hairstyle she sported.

"Ah, that's okay, Riku," she smiled warmly, "I would be worried if you _had_ seen me!"

Riku laughed lightly; Yuna's logic-based humor was all but lost on him. "Yeah..." he ran a hand through his long hair, brushing it back. "Um..."

"Oh, Sora's not here," she took a stab at guessing what he was thinking, but like most others, failed completely.

"No, he's at my house," Riku explained, ignoring the sly grin Yuna threw at him, "I left my backpack here earlier, so..."

"Ah, that was yours? Justasec!" the brunette swooped off to a side room of the grand hall, hair bouncing behind her. She was back in the blink of an eye, bag in hand. _Well, at least she's good at her job._ "Here!"

Riku took the bag and slung it over one shoulder. "Thanks," he turned towards the door, Yuna tailing him.

"Is Paine home, by any chance?" Yuna asked as he stepped out front.

Riku paused, adjusting the backpack. "Hm? Oh, yeah, she must be," he thought for a moment, "Mum wrote that she'd be home about 9, so she must be back by now."

"Okay," Yuna smiled goodbye, backing into the house, "Tell her I'll stop by in a bit!"

Waving in acknowledgement, Riku hurried home.

---

Entering the house for the second time, Riku tossed his backpack against the closet, upsetting a few tousled shoes in the process. He listened for a moment, before the melody of video game music echoed into the hallway. He smiled, knowing where Sora must have gone off to, and followed the sounds to the basement, where he saw...other people with Sora.

"Hey," Paine, sitting on the squashed couch, nodded greetings to her younger brother as he came down the stairs, "Where've you been?"

"Out," Riku replied as usual, flopping on the couch next to the silver-haired girl, who was watching Sora and Rikku battle on _Soul Calibur_. Sora was playing as the duelist, Raphael, while the vivacious blonde beside him was fighting as Ivy, the strangely bodacious woman with a whip. "Rikku, why do you always play as that character," Riku sighed.

"Because..." the blonde struggled with words, as she was concentrating on the game so fiercely, "She...reminds...me...of Paine!" Rikku exclaimed loudly as her character onscreen slide-tackled Sora's character, knocking him off the platform and into the abyss below. "YES!" A happy-dance followed.

Sora pouted cutely, and the two gamers reached into a bowl of snacks in unison. "Ew," Riku looked over to the contents of the bowl with sheer disgust, "What on _earth_ are you eating?"

"Goldfish crackers with brown sugar," Sora replied nonchalantly, eating some of the strange combination.

Riku grimaced, "And where did _that_ idea come from?" He knew the answer already.

"RiRi thought it up!" Sora tackle-hugged Rikku, sending her flying backwards, braids scattering in all directions. This spawned some sort of tickle-hug-fest, complete with inane giggling.

"SuSu!" Rikku replied with her nickname for Sora; they had devised these titles years ago, and as she thought calling him so-so would be quite offensive, she chose the alternative. To the onlookers, it seemed that this play-fight was actually quite dangerous; one sugar-high, bubbly teenager would pile-drive the other, then fists would fly. They would have intervened if it weren't for the streaming laughter that filled the basement.

"Oh yeah, Paine," Riku turned his attention away from _irresistibly_ cute image of Sora in battle, "Yuna said she's gonna come over in a bit."

Paine brushed her hair back; a habit that seemed to run in the family. "Mm, okay."

The brother and sister continued to watch Sora and Rikku duel until they had lost all track of time, even after the warriors discovered a hoard of pool noodles in the storage room and continued in _armed_ combat; how they could find that particular battle interesting was forever a mystery. It wasn't until the doorbell upstairs rang that Riku stood up, stretched, and dashed up to the main floor. Sora and Rikku chose that moment to take a break as well, collapsing in a heap on the floor, much to Paine's amusement.

Riku, once upstairs, thumped across the front hall and opened the door, to be faced with a surprise.

"What are you doing here!"

---

**Ooh! A cliffhanger! The first proper one of this story, if I'm not mistaken. I'll try and continue this sooner than last time, I promise!**

**Also, please ignore the fact that they all have been wearing the same clothes (and have not washed) in two days. It's a story, so these problems don't really exist! Haha. Good logic, ne?**

**R&R as always!**

**Love, Mayalen**


	8. Center Stage

**Disclaimer:** I don't own KH or FF, nor the funky car mentioned in this chapter. I don't own moogles, but I own that character introduced today. However, I own that mob of fangirls and fanboys. :D

**Author's Note: **Whew! I was determined to work hard on this chapter because of that much-despised cliffhanger left at the last one. Hope it turned out okay.

Also, if you Google '_Lamborghini Diablo_', you can see sort of where Sora was sitting. This'll make more sense when you read the chapter.

Um, okay! I can't think of anything else to babble about. So, taa-dah or something.

**---**

**Chemical Kisses**

_Chapter 8: Center Stage_

---

"What are you doing here!"

Riku opened the door to be faced with a mop of ecstatic red hair, babbling fragments of words.

"Riku! Roxas--Zex--tree!" He hopped around the front porch spouting nonsense, though apparently very worried about something. "Downtown--FANGIRLS!" Axel tripped over the bottoms of his baggy black pants and smacked straight into the brick wall to one side of the door. Riku pulled him back up - everyone seemed to be running in to things today - and tried to sort out the cryptic message.

"Okay...what?" He stared at Axel quizzically, until the redhead took several deep breaths and calmed down, very slightly.

"Get Sora. Car, now!" With this, Axel turned on his heel and dashed to the parked..._Lamborghini Diablo_ at the curb? _That's not his car, _Riku noted, hurrying back into the house.

"Uh, Sora?" he looked down into the basement, hearing the sounds of the Gamecube starting up again, "Can you come up here?"

He heard Sora groan in frustration, calling back up, "Why? I'm busy..."

"Yeah, well," Riku scratched his head, not quite sure how to explain the situation, "I think Axel's having a baby or something because _apparently_ there's an emergency right now and we have to go." _Oh, that worked,_ he thought, as the thumping of two pairs of feet instantly came up the stairs. Rikku was dragging Sora along almost like a rag doll, until she released him from her clutches at the top of the stairs and rushed outside. Sora, straightening up, looked at Riku in confusion, only receiving a shrug in reply; the two grabbed their shoes and dashed out after the trail of bouncing blonde braids.

"Axel!" Rikku slammed into the side of the car where the redhead was impatiently waiting, "You're having a baby!"

The look of confusion on Axel's face was indescribable. "_What?_" he gawked at her, "Not only is that completely not true, but haven't you _ever_ been to a health class?" He looked past the blonde to Riku, "What exactly did you tell them?"

_Seems his words are back._ "Nevermind," Riku shook his head, "Isn't there some sort of emergency...?"

"OH! Yes!" Axel nearly shrieked, sliding into the sportscar, "Get in! Quick!"

Sora and Riku both hurried to the opposite side of the car, while Rikku spotted Yuna leaving Sora's house and hurried over to her friend. Riku slid the low car's door open, but noticed... "Um, Axel? The car isn't big enough for all of us." He was right, as the sleek car only had two seats.

"Yeah, I know," Axel reached over and pulled Riku into the car, "Sora, you're riding on the roof."

"Seriously! Awesome!" The brunette jumped up onto the top of the car, positioning himself near the back of the vehicle, in front of the tail-fin like ornament.

Riku looked at Axel distressedly. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he questioned as Axel sped off, leaving Yuna and Rikku behind in the dust, "I mean, he could fall off the car, or, like, scratch the paint or something!"

"Yeah, well," Axel waved dismissively, "It's not like this is my car." They had already sped out of the neighborhood, and were spurring down a back road - a shortcut to the downtown area.

"Hm, yes, about that," Riku pointed an accusing finger towards the reckless driver, "Where did you get this car? I _know_ it's not yours," he added, thinking to the rusty, second-hand truck that Axel owned.

He thought for a moment, gazing out into the distance - which was a terrible idea, as he lost focus on driving, and Riku was forced to grab the wheel to keep them from swerving off the road, "Ah...I was in a hurry, so I borrowed this. I don't remember who from, though..." The redhead pondered on this, thinking back, "Oh, right. There were some big guys standing nearby with their fancy cars, so I took one."

Ushering him back into the real world, Riku frowned, "Wait, you _stole_ an expensive sportscar from a _scary gang_, came to my house and abducted us, then put Sora on the roof and broke at _least_ four speeding limits?" Releasing the steering wheel, Riku smacked himself in the head. "This better have been worth it..."

"Oh, you see, technically I didn't abduct you, since you came into the car willingly," Axel rationalized, taking control of the car once more, "And it _was_ worth it! Let me tell you, mister, it's lucky I got out of there alive! But..." His eyes glazed over again, this time in sheer remorse, "I left poor Roxas all alone! ALONE, I tell you!" He sobbed dramatically, flailing his arms around wildly, consequently hitting Riku in the face. The silverette seized the steering wheel once more, trying his best to keep the car on the road, even with the maniac in the drivers' seat.

"Axel--" Riku tried to stop his antics, but found it difficult while also driving a car, "Stop it!" He sighed, and against better judgment, let go of the wheel and was tangled up in the bitch-slapping fight Axel had started.

"No, you stop it!" the redhead waved his hands fervently, the childlike fight continuing.

"No, you!"

"You!"

"Y--SHIT!"

_CRUNCH._ The sickening sound of crunching metal. _POOF._ The brief whisper of airbags puffing up.

Once the hiss of the after-crash subsided, the two saw what had happened - they had collided with a dumpster. _Dumpster?_ _Oh._ They had arrived downtown already. But the car...

Axel crawled out of the sportscar, glancing briefly at the steaming engine before shrugging. "Well, we're here! C'mon, Sora." He poked the brunette who slid off the top of the car; it seemed he was stopped from flying off during impact by the tail-fins.

"That was so cool!" Sora raved as Riku clambered out of the trashed car as well, inspecting the damage done. "You should try that, Riku! 'Specially with Axel driving...man, that was crazy!"

Riku shook his head, leading the other two away from the wreckage, "No, no way. We're never doing that again, and we're never going to see this _car_ again. Now, let's run, shall we?" The three dashed away, just as people started to take notice of the accident. A clean getaway.

---

"So, uh, Axel? Where are we going?"

"Shhh! They have supersonic hearing!"

"Who does?"

"Them..."

The redhead pointed out from their current hideout - from around a fence corner - towards a gathering of people. There seemed to be over 100 teenagers, mostly girls, but a few handfuls of males scattered about, gathered around the front of a tall, glass-paneled building; more specifically, circling around a tall tree. They were in a plaza of sorts, a wide open area in central downtown where several executive buildings faced the pavilion. Riku, Sora and Axel were at the far end of the area, out of sight from the mob.

"And who are _they_, exactly?" Riku glared over at Axel, knowing the explanation would probably be...unpleasant, to say the least.

Sighing, Axel sat down against the fence. "Well, I might as well tell you the whole story now." He struck a pose, looking thoughtfully off into the distance.

Sora bonked him on the head. "Cut to the point, drama queen."

"Hah, alright," the redhead brushed his hair back, unfazed. "Me, Roxas and Zexion were going to meet up here, a bit early..." he pointed to the glass building, "That's where the photo shoot is being held. Anyway, we got here and that _hoard_ was waiting for us - I guess one of those _girls_ let on to the others what we were doing today. Somehow, we all got separated, and the next thing I know, Roxas and Zexion were chased up that tree over there, and I was back here!"

"So, you basically abandoned them and hid?" Riku glared, unimpressed.

"No!" Axel protested, "I'd never abandon Roxas..." A streak of seriousness crossed his face, as Riku noticed. "Zex is a whole 'nother matter, though," Axel added, grinning. "He can defend himself. Anyhow, after that I met some nice gangsters and took their car! Oh, hah," he remembered, looking at Riku, "You crashed that, didn't you?"

"Me!" Riku scoffed, before Sora interrupted.

"So, we're supposed to rescue them from that...orgy, over there?" The brunette sighed, sitting beside Axel, "This is so stupid...oh yeah, where's Tidus?" he added, realizing that they were one member short.

"Dunno," Axel replied, peeking around the corner again, "Haven't heard from him for a few hours..."

The three sat silently for a moment, before Riku spoke up. "So, what are we gonna do?"

"Ah," Axel grinned, "I already have a plan! Psst, Sora," he tugged on one of the brunette's spikes, (_Hey, only I can do that!_ Riku frowned,) and proceeded to whisper some half-baked plan.

It was daunting to have to follow through with the plots Axel would come up with, in Riku's opinion, but even more unnerving was the malevolent grin spreading across Sora's face. But it was, in fact, the moment Sora hopped up with a strangely _seductive_ look in his eyes that Riku knew that something was up. "Mm, Riku?" the brunette purred, stepping close to him.

"Uh, yeah?" _Not the most impressive response, _he thought to himself, but what was he supposed to do when Sora was acting like this? Sure, it was obvious he was being lured into a trap, but whatever the consequences, it _had _to be worth it for...this. _Damnit, self-restraint has a limit, you know!_

Sora simpered, looking up to Riku with captivating blue eyes, "Are you distracted yet?" Again, that alluring voice...

Riku groaned through clenched teeth, "Oh, fuck yes..." Sora grinned flirtatiously, and before he knew what was happening, Riku felt someone grab him from behind and...pull his shirt off?

He spun around to see Axel holding his black t-shirt, and then Sora...sweet, seductive Sora...pushed him out into the plaza, in full view of the Fangirls and Fanboys. _Oh no, damnit..._

To add to the effect, though, Axel decided to shout out, "_Hey, look! It's a shirtless Riku!_" Assuredly, this caught the attention of _all_ the crowd.

Sora had never heard such a chorus of in-sync squeals, or such a string of curse words from Riku as he ran as fast as he could away from the impending doom that flew after him. Axel nudged the brunette once the crowd was far enough in the distance, (thank goodness Riku was a fast runner...) and the two of them half-laughed, half-ran up to the tree by the building.

"Guys! C'mon down, quick!" Axel called up into the branches, and very soon after, _three_ figures leaped down from above. "Huh?" Axel looked down at the other...thing that had emerged, "Who...or _what_ are you?"

The creature was small, with a large red nose and a pompom-like antennae bobbing on its head. Roxas, picking leaves from his hair, answered for it. "Oh, um, this is Damien. He's a moogle. Cute, huh?" The blonde grinned, and the moogle...'kupo'd'.

"Um, yes, I suppose it is, but why was it in the tree with you?" Axel looked up to the branches, then back to the stout creature; he bent down and tugged on its small, leathery wings.

"Hey!" the moogle swatted his hands away, then bounced up to perch on Roxas' shoulder, "That _tree_ was my home! But now..." its little antenna nuzzled the top of the blonde's head, "I'm going to live with my best friend _ever_, Roxas, kupo!"

Axel glared at the moogle, "Hold on, Roxas is _my_ best friend, shorty! No way!"

"Axel!" Roxas hugged 'Damien' defensively, "C'mon! Can we keep him? Plee-ease?" Then, he shot the redhead a perfect mirror of Sora's puppy-dog eyed look. Of course, it worked.

Axel let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine," he surrendered, "But _you_ have to look after it--him. Okay?" Roxas grinned and nodded fiercely, while Damien let out a happy kupo.

Sora laughed, "He'll be some sort of mascot, 'kay?"

"Yes, kupo!" the moogle flapped its wings enthusiastically, "But, um...Rocks, who is that screaming?" _Rocks?_ the four boys thought, _Oh, Rocks, Roxas. He got them confused. _It was too cute to correct.

"Screaming?" Axel looked in the direction of the noise, "Oh, that's right...Riku!" the redhead stood on tip-toes and waved to the mob coming back towards them, "Hi, Riku!"

"Idiot, come on!" Zexion, speaking up, shoved Axel in the direction of the glass building and the four - five, including Damien - dashed to its transparent safety.

"Hurry, hurry...!" They held the door open for Riku as he dashed inside, mob following close behind. It was a lucky twist of fate that the door happened to have a lock on it - a big, shiny, impressive lock, at that. It was clicked shut quickly, and they were safe. For the time being.

"What the hell? Axel, that was such a stupid idea," Riku glared, snatching his t-shirt back and pulling it over his head, "I could have been KILLED! They were out for _blood,_ damnit!"

"What, so I was supposed to sacrifice myself?" the redhead waved dismissively, "I had to save Roxas. It wouldn't have seemed nearly as heroic if _you_ saved him." Of course, they didn't think that Zexion would need saving.

"Yeah, so it was better to put _me_ in the line of fire? And _what_ is that thing?" snapped Riku, pointing to the creature he had not yet been introduced to; Damien.

"Moogle!" Sora held the plush animal up to show Riku, but after the silverette tried to lunge at Axel - and was intercepted by Zexion, the usual peace-keeper - he lost interest and resumed the new game he had been playing with Roxas. Basically, it was moogle volleyball; strangely enough, Damien seemed to be enjoying it as well.

"You know, all those people outside are still watching you," A voice came from the elevator across the lobby as it opened; the group turned to the newcomers, who were indeed correct. A gaggle of screaming fanpersons were plastered to the wall outside, which, to their misfortune, was also made of glass.

More importantly, though, Axel saw who exactly came from the elevator. Tidus, who had apparently arrived much earlier, emerged, but he was following the man who had spoken; fiery red hair, the back pulled into a long ponytail, black goggles pulling his well-wrought bangs back, and two symmetrical tattoos, shaped somewhat like the blade of a scythe, underlining his eyes. Who was this man?

"R-Reno...?" Axel stared, mouth agape.

"Hey, it's you!" A look of sheer delight lit up Reno's face, as he swooped over and ravished Axel with a bear hug, "I missed ya, man!"

"Um, Axel?" Roxas asked timidly, seeing Axel return the hug hesitantly, "Who is he?"

"Oh," he turned to face his friends, slightly flustered, "Uh, yeah, this is Reno - my twin brother."

---

**Dundundun! The drama continues! Hope you liked this chapter. Review please, my glorious readers!**

**(I'm in a flamboyant mood, if you didn't catch on.)**

**Oh, and I forgot to mention...Damien is, in fact, my name. I added myself in male moogle form! Hehe. It's really more because of my weird moogle obsession than a desire to be in the story. But! Speaking of being in the story, I think I have an idea for one of you readers to be in the story...also in moogle form! I'll elaborate next chapter. **

**'Till then, dahlings!**


	9. Heart on Fire

**Author's Note:** Okay. I owe some serious apologies here. I know how long its been since I updated this. I'm unbelievably ashamed. I had some crazy writer's block, and limited computer access. Just this weekend I got my writing groove back. So if you can all forgive me, I really hope to update regularly again. 

On a different note, however, I'm very grateful to all my reviewers! You were all the constant voice in my head, telling me to update because I was a horrible person. But, on a good note, now, I've been working on _THREE_ more stories! I have to tweak the first few chapters of each, but hopefully they will be up soon. So please keep an eye out for those!

Longest chapter yet, as penance! Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own right to Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

**Chemical Kisses**

Chapter 9: _Heart on Fire_

To recap:

_"Hey, it's you!" A look of sheer delight lit up Reno's face, as he swooped over and ravished Axel with a bear hug, "I missed ya, man!"_

_"Um, Axel?" Roxas asked timidly, seeing Axel return the hug hesitantly, "Who is he?"_

_"Oh," he turned to face his friends, slightly flustered, "Uh, yeah, this is Reno - my twin brother."_

* * *

"Your...twin?" Roxas stumbled back with shock, looking between the two brothers. No, this wasn't a twisted fantasy come to life - this was real! He fumbled a moment with his words before forming a coherent sentence. "How come you've never said anything about him before?" Roxas cast Axel a hurt look. After all, weren't they bestfriends?

Axel looked to Roxas with green doe-eyes; _No! _he thought, _Making Roxas sad is very bad! _"Oh, Roxas!" Axel burst, pouncing towards the blonde, "I'm so sor--oof!" Axel fell down in mid-air, violently colliding with the floor. Roxas, who had somewhat grudgingly braced himself for a smothering, tentatively opened his eyes, then looked down at Axel. The audience - being Sora, Riku, Zexion, Tidus, Damien, and a smattering of dedicated fanclub still at the windows - also looked on.

Undeterred, only Reno stood casually in his place, one hand loosely hanging from his pocket. It seemed that in the one second it took for Axel to spring at Roxas, Reno had (lightly?) karate-chopped Axel in the side. "That's his weakness," Reno said pointedly to the onlookers, before nudging Axel slightly with his shoe. "C'mon, get up, sunshine. You're not very impressive all collapsed on the floor like that."

Axel groaned. Stupid cocky brother... He stood up, rubbing his side tenderly. "Augh, you still remembered that?" The redhead latched on to Roxas instinctively. "Roxaaas," he crooned, burying his face in his shoulder, "Kiss it better, 'kay?"

"No," Roxas replied bluntly. _Oh, well. Okay then. _

Riku, bored, rocked back and forth on his heels. He had had enough teen drama for the moment...finally, his listless mind spawned an idea. He slinked behind Sora and captured the brunette in a tight embrace. _Payback for earlier...!_ "Hey, So-ra," Riku whispered sweetly to him, "Wanna go somewhere and make out?"

Sora glanced up at the lanky teen draped around his shoulders. _Hmph..._ "Okay."

Riku froze on the spot. What? Was his little Sora finally willing? Score! "Really?"

Sora subtly rolled his eyes. _Sheesh, calm down..._ "Yeah, sure. But not right now. Maybe later."

_Huh?_ Riku quickly retreated from Sora and meandered, confused, into a corner. _Was that sarcasm? No, I don't think it was...but he said yes! Then he said no... Argh, I'm so confused!_ He hunched down in the corner depressedly. Damien bounced over curiously and prodded Riku with his pompom. He was shortly swatted at.

Roxas, now having calmed Axel down slightly, looked out the windows and noticed a disturbance starting to arise in the crowd. Girls (and a boy or two,) were pushed aside from their much-coveted spots - where they had been watching hopefully for some Riku/Sora action, or at least a little twincest - by a very tall, very bald man. Who was that? Reno seemed to know, as he waved enthusiastically as the stranger stormed into the lobby.

"Hey, Rude!" Reno grinned, and snatched up Axel, presenting him to the bald man, "Look, it's my brother! Oh, hey, you don't look very happy. What's up?"

Rude's dark glasses covered his eyes, but anyone could still see that this fellow was livid. "Someone..." he choked out, "Took my car! And Elena found it smashed up behind some dumpy restaurant!" Was he going to...cry? That seemed very out of character.

Reno sighed. "Are you sure it was _your_ car? I mean, this is a pretty small island, it's not like there are mobsters or anything running around." He tried to console Rude, and didn't notice as Axel started to edge away nervously. _Ohhh,_ Roxas pieced together, _So _that's _where Axel got that sports car. _What a lovely turn of events.

Tidus watched idly as Axel scooted beside him, nudging his arm. "Um, you were here before us, right?" He spoke hurriedly, "So do you know where we're supposed to go for this photo thing?"

Nodding, Tidus herded their group into the elevator, leaving Reno and Rude in the lobby to sort out what had happened - hopefully, they would never find out.

* * *

_Ding._ 16th floor. The silver doors of the elevator slid open, revealing a spacious foyer with a big desk laden with computers as the center of focus. There were two long hallways on either sides of the desk, each stretching out in opposite directions.

The girl at the desk smiled at them as they arrived, and stepped out from behind where she had been sitting at the computer. "You must be the boys that Yuffie was talking about. Yes, there _you_ are, Tidus. Welcome!" She bowed a little out of politeness, though it looked forced.

They all greeted her faintly, a bit disoriented. "How do you know Yuffie?" Riku asked; this girl looked a quite a bit older then they did, so he was fairly sure that she didn't go to their school.

"We're old friends," she explained, "We went to the same summer camp one year, though, she was in the Junior program, and we've been friends ever since!" She blinked, then quickly realized something. "Oh! I'm Tifa, by the way. Nice to meet you!"

Tidus quickly introduced them all, but then they were left with an awkward silence. "So, uh..." he looked around, "What are we supposed to do?"

"Hm..." Tifa leaned back over her desk - in quite a compromising position, considering her..._ample_ assets, - and read the clock on her computer screen. "Well, their time's almost up...I'll go get them. Just wait here!" She grinned and waved for them to stay put, then ran off towards the far side of the floor, her hair flapping behind her.

The six boys plus moogle stood there, unsure of what to do or say. So instead, they watched to see who Tifa had been going to fetch. The floor was just one big room, so they could see right across to where she was knocking - rather, more like pounding - on one of the dressing room doors. She shouted something at the door, which sounded a bit like "the models are here!" and then backed up, waiting expectantly.

It seemed like the room must've been empty, as nobody came out...immediately. Not thirty seconds later, the door swung open, which Tifa avoided with miraculous timing, and two people emerged. One was blonde with very spiky hair, though it looked somewhat mussed up; the other, taller person was a somewhat-frightening looking brunette. Tifa said something to them as they composed themselves and laughed. _What had they been doing...? Ohhh. OH!_

"Hey guys! C'mon over here!" Tifa waved them over. "This is Cloud Strife," she pointed to the blonde as they approached, "And this loser is Squall Leonheart. He'll only respond to Leon, though."

The brunette, Leon, gave her an unpleasant sideways glance. "Why am I a loser...?"

"Because," she rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

They waited, but she didn't finish her sentence. "Because...?" Cloud frowned at her. He didn't like it when people insulted Leon, and also disliked incomplete sentences.

Tifa brushed it off and flipped back her hair. "Just because." She went back behind her desk and tapped on the computer keyboard, obviously finished with their conversation.

Cloud shook his head, then looked at the boys, who wholly felt out of place. "Sorry about that," he muttered, leaning back against Leon's shoulder. "Anyway, you're the guys that Yuffie was sending? Thanks for coming!" He smiled, looking them over quickly. Then...his eyes landed on Roxas and Sora. "Hey, are you two...twins?"

Roxas looked at Sora, and he did the same. Why would Cloud think that...? They didn't look alike. Sora obviously had brown hair, where Roxas was a blonde. 'nuff said. "Uh...no?" They replied, confused.

"Oh..." He looked disappointed. "Well, you really look like you could be. See, there was supposed to be a feature about fashion for twins in the next magazine issue, but the guys who were supposed to do it called and canceled. Hm...Could you pretend to be twins? It would really be a big help," he added, with as sincere a smile as he could muster.

"Um, I guess so," Roxas answered for them, "But Axel's got a real twin, and he's just downstairs. Why don't they do it?"

Cloud's face lit up, and he tried to identify which of them was Axel. Sora pointed him out. "That'd be cool," he decided, "But I still want you two to do it, too."

Roxas shrugged. "'kay."

"Uh, but Roxaaaas," Axel tugged on his sleeve, "Do I _have_ to? I don't really want to spend much time with Reno while he's here..." _More like I don't want him hanging around you._

"C'mon Axel, be a good sport," Riku nudged him, then threw him a very distinct 'do-this-or-I'll-call-off-the-deal' look.

With a long sigh, Axel gave in. "Fine...but I'm not going down to get him alone. I need a bodyguard. You! Quiet one!" He pointed violently towards Zexion, "Come hither!" Though, rather than hither-coming, Zexion was pulled promptly into the elevator.

"...kay, well. What are the rest of your names, anyway?" Cloud asked (Leon was still silent...like a very attractive statue!) Oh, that was right; they had only been introduced to Tifa.

"Oh, um..." Tidus stepped up again, "That's Riku, Roxas, Sora, and...Damien," he remembered the Moogle's name, as it was mingling with everyone's ankles on the ground. "Plus Axel and Zexion," he added. The other 'models' noticed that he didn't introduce himself; was he already familiar with these two? It seemed so.

"Cool. So, uh...we're already running late," Cloud lifted up Leon's arm and read his watch, "So Leon, go show Roxas and Sora where the clothes are, 'kay?"

Leon nodded, and walked off down the right hallway. Obviously the two fake-twins were meant to follow, so they dashed after him. "What about us?" Riku asked, watching after them.

Cloud looked at the remnants. A moogle, a silver-haired kid with bad posture, and Tidus. He stepped forward and tilted up Riku's chin, critically examining his features. "Hmm..." Riku pulled away, somewhat creeped out. _Feh. Artists._

"Okay, well then," Cloud frowned, "I have no idea what to do with you three." Well. That was _so_ helpful. "Hmm..." he scratched his head in frustratedly, and looked down at the ground. Then, right on cue, _Ding!_ The elevator door slid open, revealing...six people?

"Hello, everybody!" Reno cheered and waved to them, hurrying over while dragging Axel in tow. "Look what I brought!" he told no one in particular, "Friends!" Rude, Zexion, a blonde woman and an elfin-featured man came wandering out of the elevator next.

"Oh, wonderful," Cloud said dryly, "Now, you twins go that way until you find Leon, 'kay?" He pointed down the hallways the others had departed down minutes ago. _That leaves me with 7 to deal with._ Reno nodded enthusiastically; apparently he had liked the idea of modeling. He dashed Axel down the hallways and shortly disappeared around a corner.

"I hope you three aren't planning to break into the modeling business," Cloud flatly told the three suited people, "Because we're full up here."

"No, actually," Rude adjusted his sunglasses, "Believe it or not, we have other business to attend to. Tell Reno we'll be on the 22nd floor." He spun on his heel and marched back towards the popular elevator. "Elena, Tseng," he beckoned to his two companions and with a slide of metal doors, they were gone.

Cloud sighed. Why was today so busy? "Okay, well...maybe Tifa knows what other features we need pictures for..." The blonde approached Tifa's desk and peered around at her computer. She gasped, and turned the screen off quickly. "What were you looking at...?" Cloud asked mischievously, trying to turn the monitor back on. She swatted his hand away.

"Nothing! Nothing. Just some...fan fictions..." Tifa blushed a little, but quickly snapped back. "What do you want, anyway? Don't you have a job to do, Mister Photographer?"

"Yeah," he leaned against the desk, (Riku, Tidus, Zexion and Damien felt very forgotten at this point,) "But I don't know what's left to do. Can you check?"

"Mhm..." Tifa hit alt and tab quickly on her keyboard before she clicked back on the computer screen and opened up a folder. "Well, I suppose if we've got Project Twincest covered..." They actually _NAMED_ it that? What exactly were they having the 'twins' do? "...then there's only a handful of ads…oh, wait. No. There's just a clothing spread left."

"Alright, then," Cloud ushered the four to the _left_ hallway, mentioning to Tifa to hold his calls.

"But, didn't Sora and the others go down the other way?" Riku asked as they were led down the white hall, obviously not to the same place their other friends were.

"Yeah, but that's _obviously_ Leon's studio," Cloud pointed out, opening a door near the end of the corridor, "You guys probably won't see the others' photos until the magazine comes out."

Riku growled as they entered; not only did Axel get to be in the other studio with Sora, but he would have to _wait_ to see these illustrious photos? Totally unfair.

Cloud flipped on a light, and they saw the room they had entered. It was actually a very unfinished room; the walls didn't have any drywall on them so you could see the metal bars that made up the wall structure. There were electrical cables all over the floor, leading to tall studio lights that were focused onto a white backdrop. "Okay, well. We're late getting started, so you three go right next door to the dressing rooms. There are a few racks of clothes in there all from the brand that the spread is for, so just choose whatever you want to wear." He moved over to where a table covered in camera equipment was, and began selecting lenses.

The three shrugged, and exited back into the hallway. Their moogle friend decided to stay in the studio.

Zexion pushed open the next door, which revealed a larger room with _more_ doors inside. Though, off to one side were about four clothing racks, which were absolutely stuffed with fashions. "Wow," Tidus remarked, "That's a lot of clothes." _No duh._

They approached the wardrobe and began riffling through the selection. "These clothes are all too big for me," Riku stated sadly; these were unbelievably hot clothes, but with his slender built, they would fall right off.

"That's because you're looking at the wrong row," Zexion pointed over to where he was standing, so Riku hurried over. Tidus was a lot more muscular than the others because he played a lot of sports, so he stood by himself and sifted through one rack, while the other two looked through one on the far left.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the opposite side of the 16th floor, Axel had his head pressed against a door, listening.

When he and Reno had arrived, they had found Sora and Roxas bickering by the clothing racks. Sora, it seemed, had decided to inform Roxas that he had a horrible taste in clothes. While this was not entirely true, Roxas had been very defensive and started a full-out argument. Axel had intervened, and finally when peace was made, Sora chose Roxas' clothes out for him anyway.

Which explained why they were both in one dressing room at the moment. And why Axel was listening in from outside.

"_Sora, stop it!"_

"_I'm just trying to help you!"_

"_Well, you aren't helpful! Stop touching me."_

Oh, yes. It was very enjoyable to listen to. That is, until Reno came out of his dressing room. "Whatcha doing, Axel?"

Axel jumped, quickly backing up from the door. "Uh, nothing!" He said, embarrassed.

Reno smiled. "What's going on in there?" He listened exactly where Axel had been a moment before.

"_Roxas, you look so hot!"_

"_You think?"_

"_Yeah! I made a good choice with that outfit."_

"_Well, thanks…but you didn't have to put it on for me, you know."_

Reno looked up at Axel jovially. "Axel," he whispered, like he was telling a dirty secret, "You're a…pervert!"

"No I'm not!" the other redhead defended quickly, glaring at his twin.

"Yes, you are!" Reno laughed, "Pervert, perv!" he mocked in a sing-song voice.

Axel growled, and pulled him away from hearing range of the dressing rooms. "You're so immature!" he frowned at his brother; of course, Axel was immature, too, but he wasn't about to make a point by declaring it.

"Well, maybe I am," Reno casually agreed, "but…I think I'll tell Roxas what you're a PERVERT!" He tried to make a dash for the door, but Axel tackled him down to the ground.

"You will say NOTHING!" he declared, pinning his twin down and catching him in a headlock. He proceeded to noogie Reno within an inch of his life.

"Uhh…what are you two doing?"

Axel would recognize that voice anywhere, and stopped mauling his brother to turn around – and be struck with one of the most gorgeous sights of his life.

Roxas, looking like an incredibly sexy model.

Axel was aware that he was probably staring in the most unflattering manner, but he honestly didn't care. Roxas was wearing a clingy, white sleeveless shirt with what looked like shadows of tree branches in black across the front, and black wristbands. More tantalizing, though, were the tight black jeans he was sporting, with a studded belt. Axel knew that Roxas had a girlish figure, but…hot damn!

Sora must have done his hair, and…makeup? Yes, Roxas had black eyeliner on, which was surprisingly well done, considering who his makeup artist was. His hair was spiky as usual, and dipped in just the right places. "Axel?" Roxas looked at him confusedly, "What's wrong with you?"

Axel found some words and was about to speak, when his wonderful twin cut him off. "Roxas!" Reno exclaimed, jumping up and walking over, "I didn't know you were such a _babe_!"

Oh, no. That was it. Reno could ruin his afternoon, sure. He could hang out with his friends, yeah. But he could _not_ hit on Roxas! Axel glared viciously. _What can I do…?_ Well, he would use his favorite plan, of course.

When all else fails, make out with Roxas.

Pushing Reno out of the way, Axel advanced onto the blonde, pinning him against the dressing room door. What surprised him, though, was that it was _Roxas_ who wrapped his arms around his neck and drew their lips together. Axel seemed to have forgotten until now that he himself was dolled up, as well, wearing a faded green army coat over a black t-shirt, and acid-washed jeans with combat boots. _Apparently, Roxy finds this look hot,_ Axel told himself, as they proceeded to eat each others faces.

Reno stood off to one side, rather put off. Well, his attempt at flirtation had failed. It wasn't until Sora opened the dressing room door and both Roxas and Axel fell inside that he burst out laughing.

"Oh, sorry!" Sora apologized to the two on the ground, but Axel pushed him outside and shut the door, going back to their activities.

Reno and Sora just looked at the door; now it seemed less funny and kind of awkward. At that moment, though, Leon stuck his head in through the doorway. "Are you all ready?" he asked in a monotone voice; he frowned seeing only two people who looked done changing.

"Um, I think they're going to need a couple more minutes," Sora replied, concealing laughter. Leon shrugged and disappeared again.

* * *

The photo shoots went well, once Leon's side had gotten Axel and Roxas' faces separated and Cloud's side had convinced Riku _not_ to run away to find Sora. They were to regrouping in the foyer after an hour or so, bags full of clothes in hand.

"Leon, are you sure it's okay to have all these clothes?" Reno asked as they walked down the hall.

Leon nodded. "The stores don't want them back now that they've been worn."

As it so happened, all the models were still wearing clothes from their separate shoots. When the two groups entered the foyer, they gaped at each other.

Now, not only were they Destiny Island's hottest fellows, but they were also the best dressed, head to toe in the latest designer fashions.

Sora wore a white button-up shirt with the collar flipped up, a black t-shirt underneath. He had on _snakeskin_ pants – a far take from his usual style – black leather motorcycle boots, and an army-styled hat pulled low on his forehead. Riku, who was very much taken by this look, was modeling a leather jacket with a white shirt beneath, black skinny jeans and sneakers.

Roxas and Axel were still wearing the same clothing from their first pictures, but they weren't really noticing anyone else's outfits. Zexion, who seemed to somehow have more bags of clothing than anyone, wore loose-fitting black pants with straps up the sides, and a grey zippered-up hoodie. Tidus had on a blue sleeveless top with some sort of skeletal pattern down one side and the back, tan shorts and white athletic shoes. Reno had on an outfit that looked somewhat like the suit he had been wearing when he arrived, but somehow his one looked that much more _lavish. _

"Thanks, guys," Cloud spoke to the group, "You were all really helpful."

"No problem," Tidus smiled, "It was fun. Plus, we got free stuff," He motioned towards the large quantity of outfits they were carting.

"We'll send you your payment once we get ours from the magazine," Leon said, leaning back against the wall. "Maybe a few days or so."

"We're getting paid?" Reno snapped to attention; money was good. "Sweet!"

"Of course you are," Cloud looked at him strangely, "It _was_ work. You get paid for work, duh."

So, our heroes congratulated one another for a job well done. Saying goodbye to the photographers, they entered the elevator once more, wherein Axel and Roxas sucked face, and Riku tried several times to grope Sora, the enticing power of the snakeskin pants too much for his strength of mind. Once they arrived back in the lobby, however, they promptly ran into Rude and his comrades again.

"You took a long time," Rude said, staring critically at Reno.

"Well, so-orry," Reno shrugged, "But what does it matter? I'm sure you could handle work without me."

"Wait, just a sec," Riku frowned, "You and Axel are twins, but you're already working? Don't you go to school?"

Reno laughed, and smiled at his brother. "Ah, yes…how shall I put this?" Axel glared at him. "I'm the _smart_ one."

"He goes to school," Rude interrupted his gloating, "Reno's finishing twelfth grade currently, as a part-time student. Most of the time he is working for Shin-Ra."

"What's Shin-Ra?" Axel asked; didn't he know? This was his own brother, after all.

"That is classified information," Elena stepped forward, giving Axel a serious look.

"…k-kay…"

"Reno will be attending your school for the remainder of the school year, as well," Tseng spoke up.

"_What?_ Are you even SERIOUS?" Axel looked distraughtly at his twin, but Reno just smiled at his coworkers.

"So they accepted my application?"

"Yes," Rude nodded, adjusting his sunglasses, "You'll start on Monday."

"Wonderful…" Axel mumbled, and tugged on Roxas' arm. "C'mon, let's go now, guys."

The others followed him towards the door of the glass building, but Rude called after them. "You can't leave that way."

"We can leave whichever way we want!" Axel snapped back, a little too quickly.

"No, literally. You _can't_ leave that way. Look outside." They looked.

It seemed, when they had thought that the crowds were leaving, they were wrong. They were _restocking_. There were tents pitched around the plaza outside, and a few police officers were patrolling around, keeping the peace. Well, they certainly weren't getting out that way. Point one: They had stolen a boat; police were not their friends at the moment. Point two: They were carrying large, heavy bags of clothing. There wasn't a chance that they could dash through without being caught. Finally, point three: There were so _many_ of them out there!

It looked quite futile.

"Are we going to have to live in this building for the rest of our lives?" Roxas asked, sighing.

"Of course not," Rude turned towards a steel door in the back corner of the lobby, "Follow us."

They were led down a long narrow hallway, the length of the entire building. At the end was another door, which they pushed through. They were outside, but at the back of the office building. A long white limousine was parked before them; a Lincoln Town Car, upon closer inspection. Tseng opened the back door and motioned for them to enter. They did, quite happily.

The interior was plum colored, with cushy leather seats all facing towards each other. Gracing one side was a mini-bar and a television. "Reno, your company rocks!" Roxas told him happily as they were all seated. He missed the jealous glare Axel was wielding.

Reno laughed. "Yeah, it does." He looked out the window idly, until they had pulled around to the front of the building, (Elena was driving. She seemed to be the most level-headed one aboard.) "Elena," he called up, and she nodded in response, hands firmly planted at ten-o'clock, two-o'clock. "Do you think you could floor it, maybe? We're being swarmed."

Indeed, as they all looked out the window, the fan faction had spotted them leaving, and were pursuing at a pace that was faster than the speed limit of the street. Promptly, they were _surrounded_.

"Does this happen a lot to you guys?" Reno asked, looking frightened as people were squinting into the windows. All six nodded. Then, the limo started to _rock._

As people filed closer to the vehicle, they started to push each other, and their car would sway. Violently.

"I think…I'm going to be sick," Zexion moaned, leaning back against the seat headrest, "Somebody…stop the ride."

"Ok, who's going to be-" Tidus stopped mid-sentence as someone's face smushed against the window, "-the sacrifice?"

"I already did my duty," Riku waved them away, "Someone else. Ti, Zex, one of you go. You hardly ever do anything."

"Not true!" Tidus frowned, "We, uh, are totally involved in the plot…of our lives!"

"Not enough, you aren't," Axel opened up the sunroof. "Out."

Tidus groaned, but obliged and hopped up and out, leaving his bags behind. Zexion, however, shook his head. "No way in hell am I going out there," He growled.

"Yes, you are," Riku and Axel replied at the same time, and without time to comment on the jinx, they seized Zexion and hurled him up. "Out ya go, emo!" Axel called after him.

They closed the roof immediately after, and with a sudden rocking motion, it seemed the two had either jumped or been pulled from the roof. Looking outside, Tidus seemed to be…_crowd surfing_, while Zexion was being horribly assaulted with affection. The lucky ones inside laughed.

Elena, at the wheel, waited patiently, until – the crowd parted enough at the front of the car for her to pull the vehicle out of its cage of humans, and out onto the main road.

"Are you sure they'll be okay?" Reno looked back, a bit concerned. They couldn't see either of their friends anymore.

"Aw, yeah," Sora waved dismissively, "They like it. They just don't know it."

The limousine drove off with a rev of the engine, eight people plus moogle inside, down the open road.

* * *

_Haha. I just thought about it, and the whole swarm of fans idea is very unrealistic. But, it's my story, and I can do what I like with it. :)_

_Urg. I've revised this chapter about five times but I'm sure there are spelling/grammar mistakes I've missed. I just hope I'm keeping the storyline constant._

_Thank you all for being wonderfully patient people. I know I mentioned a reviewer contest in the last chapter, but I'm afraid that idea will be on hold for a while. Though, as a treat (maybe for me more so than you), I'm going to try and do sketches of each of their model outfits. I'll put them on Deviant art, but I'll tell you about their progress next chapter._

_Again, chapter progress is updated on my profile!_

_Thanks! --Mayalen_


	10. Real Life and Rainy Days

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts or it's characters.

Well, i'm back. After a two-year absence, here I am. I'm so sorry. I have had a lot going on in my life and now I have finally gotten back to my old self, and I am able to write. Hopefully this is the start of many more frequent updates. I have a new computer in a convenient set-up so I will have more access.

Anyways, enough talking. I have held this back for too long. Enjoy, faithful readers!!

**--**

**Chapter 10 **

**Real Life and Rainy Days**

--

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

There was no sunshine streaming in through the window, even though the clock was advertising "10:42" in bright red letters.

_Drip. Drip._

There were no sounds, except for the constant, steady sound of water dripping from the roof outside.

_Drip._

Slowly, a wafting scent came quietly under the closed door, and lingered in the air. A familiar scent, one that reminded Axel of home. Of childhood. Of...

"BACON!!"

His feet slammed into the floor as he jumped up, grabbing a sweater off the top bunk of his bed and tearing through his bedroom door. The smell, oh so heavenly! Who was the angel preparing a feast, just for him? Oh, what a way to wake up!

He slid across the floor and gracefully stopped in front of the kitchen doorframe - well, as gracefully as you can move after waking up 15 seconds prior to sliding. And there, his kitchen angel, his chef du jour, his breakfast savior, was - his twin brother, wearing his mom's frilly apron, covered in pancake batter.

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!!" cried Reno, smiling hugely. Although as he smiled, a glob of dried pancake batter cracked and fell off his face. This did not dampen his enthusiasm in the least. "Look what I made for you!" he gestured to the kitchen table, which had miraculously been spared the war of batter which had apparently taken place in the other end of the kitchen. There were two table settings there, with a pile of flowers in the center of the table, dirt still clinging to their roots (Reno had obviously never learned the use of a vase, nor of scissors).

"Well, this is a pretty sight." Axel sighed. Here he had been hoping it would be someone hot making breakfast for him. His fantasy of Roxas serving bacon was shattered. Nonetheless, there was food to be eaten. He dragged himself over to the table and sat down in his usual seat.

"Nono, that's where i'm sitting," Reno scolded him, frying pan in hand, "You can sit over there." He pointed to the seat across the table.

Axel looked at the other seat, then at his food-coated brother. Then back to the seat. He shook his head. "Now, I know you've been away for a long time, bro, but this isn't how we do things around here. This, here, is my seat, see? I spend a lot of time sitting here. The seat is perfectly indented with my butt. And that, over there, is your seat. You abandoned it a couple years ago when you left for your secret missions. Remember?"

Reno laughed. "Oh, silly. Take a look at your seat." He grabbed Axel's arm and pulled him up. Axel looked. And blinked. Then looked again.

"What...the hell...is THAT?!" he glared at where he had been sitting before. Angry red letters were screaming 'RENO' up from the seat. They were drawn on with sharpie, and as he tried to wipe the word away, it seemed it was not going anywhere. Damnit! "Why on earth did you need to label my chair?" he looked at the other chair across from it, "and the other one, too?!" His name was the other seat, in smaller, less exciting writing.

"So you wouldn't get confused, bro. Why else?" Reno scooted over and sat in the chair emblazoned with his name. "Sit, eat. I made you a welcome home Reno breakfast. Wasn't that nice of me?" He grinned, "And you're out of pancake mix, just so you know."

This was apparent. There were three pancakes on a plate on the table, and enough dough on the floor for about eighteen more. Axel rubbed his temples. How to explain...? "Reno," he started, hestitantly sitting in his new chair. Best use small words for this one. "You don't make a welcome home breakfast for yourself. That's what the people you are with do for you. But I didn't make you one. Do you understand?"

Reno shook his head. Pretty comically, as he had a piece of nearly blackened bacon hanging from his mouth. "It means," Axel continued, "That you're NOT WELCOME HERE!" He slammed his fist on the table. The glasses of juice - it wasn't orange, but a weird blue tint - shook but settled down. It didn't matter. No way in hell was he going to drink that sketchy juice. "Me and mom are doing fine without you moving back in. And I definately don't need you infringing on my territory at school. So, would you mind...?" He made a shooing motion towards the front hall, and the door.

Reno smiled. Dense? No, just overly clever. "Oh, I don't mind at all." Axel sank in his seat. "Besides, I can see now that you two need my help more than ever! This place is a mess, for starters." He gestured to the batter-soaked kitchen while wolfing down one of the pancakes.

"Mess!? This place was spotless before you decided to celebrate your own return! This is your mess, and you better not expect me to clean all this up. And where is mom, anyways? Why didn't she stop you?" Axel reached for one of the two remaining pancakes, but Reno was faster and snagged it first. He grabbed the last one as a precaution; no way he was going to go hungry.

"Mom went out to her workshop. Another one of those 'Watch out for men, assert yourself, girl power forever and ever' deals," Reno spat out through a mouthful of mushy pancakes, "I thought she stopped going to those a long time ago? What happened?"

"She got lazy, and blamed it on our species," Axel shrugged. He seemed to forget his anger over the chairs. "It gives her something to do at least. She doesn't spend a lot of time doing anything outside of work. Maybe she's making some friends at it," he added. Though, hopefully no men-hating feminist beasts. He could just imagine what would happen if his mom decided to host one of the meetings at their house one day. He made a mental note to make plans on whichever night that was.

Reno gulped down the suspicious blue juice and made a sour face (good plan to avoid it, Axel thought). "Well, as long as she's having fun, I guess." He leaned on the table, looking satisfied and full. "Speaking of which, what do you kids do around here for fun, anyways? Just seems like a lot of surf and sand, to me."

"Stop talking like an old man," Axel frowned, "You're the same age as me. And you lived here for most of your life, you should know."

"Yeah man, but I've been gone during the prime years of our lives! Are there hot chicks here? Clubs? Casinos? WHAT, TELL ME!" His passionate outburst nearly upset the entire table - again.

_Casinos...?_ Axel thought, _What kind of life has this guy been leading lately?_ "No, no, and defiantely no." He was fairly satisfied with the sad look creeping across his twin's face. "But, there's stuff to do, I guess. You can pick on the fangirls, go swimming, watch movies, surf--"

"Wow, scintillating stuff," Reno interrupted. "Is that really all? Man, kid's stuff. I need to walk on the wild side again! Remember before I left, how cool and tough I was? Hanging out in allleyways and hittin' kids with sticks! That was the life," he gazed out the back window wistfully.

"Yeah, you were cool all right," Axel stared at him. Was he serious? Reno was a total geek before he left. He was a brainiac and Axel had to fend off the bullies for him. He hid in alleyways because they smelled and nobody would follow him into there. And he hit them with sticks because he had no self-defence, whatsoever. Though now, his brother seemed different - cooler, calmer, tougher. Maybe he really had changed, working for that weird company. Well, it made no difference to Axel. He was still a dork - who really couldn't cook. "Maybe you can try making some friends, so they can show you the ropes around here." _And you can stay away from Roxas. And you can be off having fun far away from us. Far, far away. _It seemed like a good plan.

"Eh, I could try," Reno slid through the batter on the floor and dove into the fridge, rummaging around, "But why bother when you already have perfectly good friends we can share? I mean, we're twins. They like you, so they're gonna _love_ me. Naturally," he emerged with an apple in hand, "And you don't mind sharing, of course. I mean, after all those years of me _sharing_ my homework answers with you? I should think not."

Axel flinched. Ah, yes. Elementary school. The years of perpetual sorrow in the academic fields of his life. He wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, even though he got the highest grades in his class in coloring. Math, science, english, though? Those escaped him. Until he started getting help from Roxas back after 8th grade, and it all finally hit him. But the years took their toll, and he still would struggle to get by in classes now. But Reno, despite his shortcomings, always let Axel cheat off his homework. He was a good brother. Kind of.

"Okay, fine. You can hang out with us. Sometimes. But only when I say its okay, okay?" Reno nodded solemnly. "And not today because it's pouring rain and i'm staying inside. Therefore you are staying inside also, got it?" Reno opened his mouth to reply but Axel slapped his hand across his twin's mouth. "No arguments. You stay inside. Tomorrow we'll go to school and you can try not to embarass me. For now, i'm going to my room to think long and hard about ways to keep you from sabotaging my life." Axel stood up and stepped gingerly around the mess on the floor. "I suggest you start cleaning this all up before mom comes home. As much as I dislike you, i'd be a tiny bit upset if she killed you." And with that, he was gone.

Reno sighed. He liked his brother so much more when they were out with other people; he was carefree and jolly then. Here at home he was mister responsible, just like always. _Still, _he thought, as he started to shovel up the batter with a spoon, _He's a good guy. He just needs to stop worrying so much about everything._

--

Zexion was lying in his bed awake. He did not know what time it was, nor did he care. He was feeling very used and mistrustful of his friends at present because of the events of the day before. He resolved that no matter how many times they called him today, he would not answer the phone. He would spend the day in his basement on his computer.

Little did he know that nobody would call. It was pouring rain, and nobody wanted to get soaked today.

So he went on feeling quite ignored, and increasingly lonely. He flopped on his bed after a few hours of mindless web-surfing. Was there nothing left in his house to do? His stomach growled its response. Yes, there was feeding to be done. So he snuck upstairs, through his dark house, into the equally dim kitchen. Neither he nor his family bothered to turn lights on. They could see perfectly well in the dark, besides, it was better for the environment. But usually there was endless sunlight streaming in during the day. Today, it was dull. Zexion peered out the window and saw the flood coming from the sky. Ah, so he hadn't been socially shunned. Everyone else was as cooped up as he was.

This cheered him up significantly, though he was still down enough to retain his depressed facade. He went to the refrigerator and grabbed the first thing he found in a tupperware container; it was some kind of pasta, as far as he could tell. His dad's cooking was very questionable, and as his mother way away for the month on some 'exciting' trip, he had to enjoy dad's mystery meals daily. Oh, what a life. He threw the container into the microwave and hit a few buttons until it started. Who really cared how long it was in for? As long as it didn't explode, it was fine.

However, it was not fine.

As he was bent down in a cupboard looking for a plate, he heard a boom that was not unlike a nuclear reaction; coincidental, considering it came from a microwave. He looked up, terrified. Had the microwave just imploded? No, it was the opposite. It exploded. From the inside. He could barely see the light inside through the thick layer of spaghetti sauce that was dripping down the window. Oh, glorious. He had forgotten to take the lid off.

Sighing, he grabbed a fork from a drawer and went over to the microwave. He unplugged it, and picked up the entire appliance and brought it over to the couch. He sat down, grabbed the TV remote, and flicked it on. Opening the door to the microwave, he proceeded to eat the spaghetti from inside it. A brilliant use of technology, in his own opinion.

--

Earlier the same morning, Sora found himself waking up in a pile of bodies. No, he had not gone mass-murdering in his sleep. He had stayed over at Riku's house, and it seemed that he, his friend and the three girls, Yuna, Rikku and Paine, had fallen over asleep promptly after their 3 AM 'Who can stay awake the longest' duel had ended. It seemed that they all lost. As he wiggled out from the pile, Sora heard someone else stir. He couldn't tell who, so he quietly snuck upstairs to the kitchen. 'Twas feeding time.

He stood in the middle of the kitchen, staring up at the full cupboards. Quiet food, quiet food...what could he eat silently? Cereal? No, not at all. Toast? Yeah right! He ate toast like a beaver. Ah, the perfect solution, he found as he looked in the freezer. A tub of ice cream.

He found a spoon and sat down at the kitchen table. Opening the lid, he discovered it was his favorite flavour - chocolate chip cookie dough with brownie chunks! Riku must have bought this. Without another thought, he dug in. "Umm num num! Yum, best breakfast ever!" Sora had obviously overlooked the fact that he was a very noisy eater. So much for quiet food.

Meanwhile, however, the second person to emerge from the cuddle puddle in the basement was Riku. He woke up because he had heard a strange gobbling noise from elsewhere in the house - very suspicious. As he rolled off the pile, he crouched on the floor. Who was missing from this scene? Ah, of course. His sleepy brain put two and two together and got Sora.

He crept up the stairs silently. _Be a predator,_ he told himself. _You are on the hunt. Stealthy! Silent! Rawr!_ He slithered on his belly along the hall floor. Peering around the frame of the kitchen door, he saw Sora, back to him, chowing down on _his_ ice cream! _Too perfect,_ Riku smiled. He made a long, low hissing noise.

Instantly, Sora froze. Riku knew that the one thing that Sora feared more than anything was snakes. They didn't have any on the islands, but he had seen a lot of movies portraying them as spooky, creepy creatures, and got freaked out at any mention of them. It was mean, Riku knew, to tease his best friend like that, but it would be oh-so-worth it. Another hiss. Sora started eating the ice cream again, still frozen in his spot. This was his defence mechanism. He was convinced that if he sat perfectly still, the snake would not see him or attack him. Obviously he never factored his ice-cream eating hand into this, but nonetheless, he was scared.

Riku slithered along the kitchen floor. Hiss, slither. Hiss, slither. He could see Sora shaking in fear. He felt terrible, but he was just waking up, after all. His judgement wasn't awake yet. So he continued to stalk towards him until he was just behind the brunette's chair...he stood up slowly, hissing into Sora's ear. He could see him shake like a leaf. Too funny! What else could he do? Just plant a kiss on the back of Sora's neck.

He did not anticipate Sora's reaction.

"AHHHHHH!" He screamed, at the top of his lungs. He jumped out of his chair, throwing the ice cream up at the ceiling. It splattered, everywhere. A chunk of cookie dough landed squarely in Riku's hair. That was the least of his concerns, though, as Sora ran right into him, and screamed again, surprised. They were both stunned, and tipped slightly - just in time to slip in a glob of ice cream and fall on the floor. They both scrambled to get up but kept slipping on the puddles of melted ice cream. Eventually they gave up, flopping in a pile of gross melted goo.

Footsteps pounded from all directions; Riku's sister and her friends emerged from the basement, sleep still in their eyes, but with a glaze of concern. His parents bounded down from upstairs, looking equally as dazed. The five stared at the two boys laying in the puddle.

"Oh, gross." Paine grimaced, and wobbled back to the basement.

Everyone else followed suit, sighing and heading back to sleep. "Clean that up," Riku's mom added, as she dissapeared back upstairs.

Sora looked at Riku, and Riku looked at Sora. "Jerk," Sora said, licking a dab of ice cream off Riku's nose.

--

Tidus had never made it home.

Short story was, after he was tossed from safety by his 'friends', some of the girls had taken it upon them to kidnap him. Perhaps abduct was a better term. Either way, he found himself tied to a chair in a basement. And judging from who was with him, it was Selphie's house.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, dear," she said, staring at him from across the room. "Take this camera and take photos of your friends doing dirty things, or suffer the concequences!"

He stared at her. How long had she been trying to convince him to do this? From the gleam of sunlight coming in from the basement window, it seemed he had been here all night. "I'm not going to do it," he repeated, "It's sick and wrong. I don't want to be present when those things go on. Let alone be the photographer! You are seriously one messed up bitch," he added for effect. He had been tacking on different insults for some variety for the last...eight hours.

"Then i'm sorry it has to come to this, Tidus." What? This was new. What was she playing at? He saw her hop off the couch she was sitting on, and pick up a box on the floor. She dragged over a table and placed it right by the captive.

"W...what are you doing?" he asked, trying to not let the panic in his voice be heard. He evidently did not cover it well.

"Oh, don't worry dear. It'll all be over soon..." _Is she going to kill me?!_ He started to fitget. _I've got to escape..._ But a moment later, he knew he was in store for a fate worse than death.

"Where did you get that?!" he demanded, more out of fear than actual concern. For sweet, innocent Selphie had a tattoo machine in hand. Never had such a dainty face looked so menacing.

"Look, i'm sorry sweetheart, but this is how it's gonna be. The club needs those photos. If you don't get them for me, you'll have to be punished. I will tattoo my own name into your chest."

_MONSTER!_ "You can't do that!" Tidus cried, fully fearing the girl now. "It's...illegal!" He wasn't sure if it was or not, but he was in a rather desperate situation.

"Oh, I can, and I will, i'm afraid." She tore open the front of his shirt - violently, most certainly - and raised the tool to his chest. "Now, one last time...will you take the photos?"

"I..." he gaped at the needles growing closer to his skin. "I...I..." Almost touching him... "I...YOW!" he flew back with mighty force. Just as the needle touched him, he reacted so violently that his chair flew back and crashed against the floor. It broke, and his restraints along with it.

"Oh, poo," Selphie frowned as he clamored up. He made a dash for the stairs, but she jumped in front of him. "Consider the offer, Tidus. Next time, we will not be so kind." Suprisingly, she stepped aside, and let him escape.

He flew up the stairs and ran from the house, not even closing the door behind him. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the rain to the nearest safe house - Roxas'. He gasped for breath on the front step, ringing the doorbell incessantly. _Open...open damnit!_

--

Roxas had started his day pleasantly. He woke up, rolled over, fell on top of Damien (the moogle), and fell back to sleep. And then his doorbell rang. And rang again. And suddenly, his day was not so pleasant.

He got up, slowly, as to make the ringer of the bell suffer. It was more than likely to be Axel. Who else would assault his home at this time of the day?

He was very surpised to find a soaking-wet, sleep-deprived, clothing-torn Tidus on his front step.

"What the hell...?" Roxas opened the door wider, letting his friend in. "Dude, wild night?"

"You...have no idea..." Tidus panted. He was still out of breath. "Couch please." He tried to stand up on his own but wobbled. Roxas grabbed his arm and led him to the couch.

"So...uh, what happened? Have you even been home yet?" Roxas inquired, spying Tidus' clothes. They were the same as what he was wearing when they threw him out of the limo. Though, obviously torn and wet now.

"Selphie...abducted me and tried to tattoo me for photos and her name and basement and EVIL and oh...I am so tired..." Tidus promptly fell over asleep.

_Well. This is a pleasant scene. _Roxas stared at him. What should he do? He picked up the phone. "Axel? Oh, hi Reno. Is Axel there? What? Why does that matter?" Long pause... "I'm wearing sleeping pants, okay? Yeah. Real exciting. Can you put Axel on the phone now? Thanks." Another pause. Dial tone? _He hung up on me!_ Roxas fumed. _That jerk!_ Full of angst, he tried calling back. Three times, in fact. But the line was busy every time. Alas he gave up, and dialed a different number.

No answer. _Where could Sora be?_ he thought, frustrated. Just when he needed some help, everyone is mysteriously gone. And when he's annoyed and wants to be alone, they stick to him like glue. How ironic.

_Where else would he be..._ Of course, the answer seemed obvious now. He dialed Riku's number, and checked to make sure Tidus was still breathing as the phone rang. Indeed, he was.

--

"Reno? Who called?" Axel stuck his head out his bedroom door, looking down the hall to the family room where Reno was perched in a chair, reading a trashy magazine.

"Just a telemarketer. Want your basement fumigated?" he asked nonchalantly.

"I don't think they fumigate for the kind of pest we have here," Axel grumbled as he withdrew to his room.

Reno smiled. He glanced over to the phone; it lay there, off the hook, for the rest of the day.

--

Riku was in the midst of having his hair shampoo'd in the sink. With a house full of girls, all the bathrooms were full by the time he and Sora had finished mopping up the ice cream from the floor, ceiling, and walls. All that was left was the mess in their hair.

"Riku, stop fidgeting," Sora said, struggling to rinse his hair using the extendable faucet. Sora was not in a good mood; his hair was entwined in a very unattractive pink towel-turban. Riku had enjoyed having Sora bend over the sink to wash his hair a bit too much and ended up spraying him completely with water. He was a mess and knew who was to blame.

"I can't, i'm getting brownie chunks in my eyes..." Riku lied, squirming around. He just liked having Sora pressed up against him and wanted to last as long as possible.

"Well, finish it yourself, then," Sora dropped the faucet, fed up. Riku frowned. Not what he was hoping for. But he finished the job himself, as Sora went across the hall to answer the phone which had been ringing for almost a minute now.

"Hello?" he heard him say. "Oh, hi Roxas! Uh huh? Really? Wow, neat. Okay. I'll tell him. See you!" The phone was hung up, and the footsteps carried back into the kitchen just as Riku was towelling off his silver hair.

"Who was that?" he asked, none too happy that he had been abandoned in the sink.

"Roxas," Sora said, unwinding his hair from the towel. It stuck up in its unruly spikes instantly. Mother nature went overboard on this boy. "He said Tidus was kidnapped or something. I don't really know what that means...wanna go over and check it out?

Riku looked outside. The rain was falling as hard as ever. "Nah. We can just find out tomorrow. I'm sure its just something stupid." He threw down the towel on one of the kitchen chairs. "Let's just go watch TV or something."

"Okay," Sora chirped, happily following him to the basement, anticipating couch cuddles.

--

I hope this is to your satisfaction, everyone. Please keep reading and make sure to review to let me know you're all still out there :) much love to you all.

-Damien


	11. Unbridled Affections Part 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own kingdom hearts, or the characters. I do however own a microwave, but it leaks radiation cause its old. Maybe that's why I'm so crazy?

Thanks so much for all the amazing reviews guys! Hopefully I replied to everyone. I'm so glad to know there are still readers after so long...it brings tears to my eyes!! Well, not really. But it does make me super happy and giggly. Bah, enough with me. Storytime! This is part 1.

**--**

**Chapter 11**

**Unbridled Affections  
**Part One

--

Monday morning. Crisp, clean, fresh. The morning after a rainstorm always feels like a new beginning.

At least, until the bell rang.

The scene? Science class. The teacher? Absent. The students? In complete, and utter chaos.

"YOU HAVE A TWIN?!"

This was the main focus of today's first period class. Just as luck would have it, Reno was in his darling brother's science homeroom, and was in the process of being swooned over. While the boys were lounging in their usual collection of desks, Axel was trying to divert his glory-hound brother away from the fangirls that swarmed him since entering the building.

"You know, he used to go to school with you all a couple years ago. Why are you all so astounded by him now?" Axel tried to pull Reno away from the collective grasp of the affectionate hoarde. It was hopeless, he realized. Futile. Alas, there must be casualties on the road of life. "Well, good luck, bro." Axel let go and left him to the vultures.

Reno seemed to have no qualms about the whole thing. On the contrary, he was delighted to be loved and adored by the class who had shunned him all those years ago. "Ladies, ladies. Please," he posed, and they all stepped back, glassy eyed. A new target meant a new challenge. "There is more than enough of me to go around." He winked, and a blonde girl fainted. _Oh, someone please help these girls. They need to get off the island more._

Axel settled in with his comrades. He smiled complacently, but it faded once he looked over at Roxas. "What's wrong, cutiepie?"

Roxas threw him a strange look. "Where were you yesterday? I tried calling...but, er..." he trailed off. The group turned to look at him. What was going on? Curious. But really, who out of them did not enjoy a good piece of gossip?

"Huh? I was at home all day with Reno. The phone never rang...well, it did once, but he said it was a fumigator..." Axel frowned. You could almost hear the gears turning in his head.

"And you believed him?" Riku laughed. An angry glare was shot his way. To everyone else, it was becoming obvious what happened. "Really, Axel. This is slow, even for you."

Roxas sighed. _He shouldn't make fun of Axel..._ "I called and your brother asked me what I was wearing then hung up on me, basically. He wouldn't even let me talk to you. It was really mean of him and I tried calling again but it was busy so--"

"Roxas," Sora pointed out, "Axel isn't listening..." they directed their attention to where Axel was now mid-air in a ferocious leap towards his brother.

"YOU...PERVERT!" erupted from the pouncing redhead, followed by a symphony of sound effects - metal desks clashing together, bodies hitting the ground, girls screaming with a mixture of fear and delight. Nothing like some attractive twins wrestling to start off the week on a high note.

"I'm not the pervert," Reno shouted, amid the flury of fists coming at his face, "You are! You stand outside his room and listen to him get dressed!" _Ouch, low blow._ The struggle knocked over another desk. Applause came from some of the boys, squeals of delight from some of the girls at this dirty secret now revealed.

A fistful of red hair went flying. From who, they never knew. "One time! And you've only been here three days--" Punch, kick, "--and already you're trying to steal him!"

The scuffle continued for another few moments. There was to be no victor, it was clear. They were so evenly matched - but whether it was because of genetics or skill was a mystery. For each punch Axel threw, Reno kicked. For each scratch Reno left on Axel, he got bitten in return. It was a merciless fight. _And over what...? This is stupid. I'm ending this._ "AXEL." A stern voice interrupted the match. The students, having chosen sides already, froze along with the fighters. The mediator was Roxas. "Come here."

Axel dropped his brother's leg and Reno let go of his brother's ear. Axel scampered over to Roxas like a puppy, looking as if he was about to be scolded. No, he would only enjoy that too much. He could only try to be as serious as possible. "Axel," Roxas grabbed him by the collar, "Don't fight with your brother. Got it?"

Dead silence filled the room. Roxas, laying down the law? Unheard of! It was hard to tell whether they should laugh or not. One person chose to laugh. "Yeah. Don't pick on your dear old brother, Axe-murderer. Listen to your little boyfriend," Reno picked himself up off the ground and dusted off his shirt. He seemed relatively unscathed. "Just don't be suprised when he decided he likes me better. Because, well, we all know it'll happen." A challenge? It seemed so.

Axel was speechless. Roxas defending his brother? Reno planning to steal Roxas? This couldn't be happening...but it was, as he saw it. Why else would Roxas pull him from the fight? Axel felt betrayed. He backed away from Roxas a bit, shoulders hunched. Was he right? He looked at Roxas, eyes begging him to prove him wrong. _C'mon..._

Roxas sighed. _Boys are so stupid. I blame testosterone. _He stood up and gave Axel a look which he hoped conveyed a 'don't-worry' idea, but from the way his friends' eyes glazed over, it seemed not. Oh well. His facial expressions were not as good as he hoped. Not to fear. He had another plan.

He walked over to Reno, who was standing cockily, though a tad dishevelled, in the front of the classroom. _Well, at least there's an audience for this_, thought Roxas. He wanted to make sure his point was proven. He faced Reno, and gave him a soft look. _How the hell does Sora do this...uhh..._ He looked up through his eyelashes and tried to look cute. However cute was not exactly in his repetoire, and instead he looked a little upset. Either way, Reno leaned down towards him. _Three...two...one..._ PUNCH.

The sickening crunch of cartilegde was followed by dead silence. A collective gasp from the crowd, then "FUCKING KID!" A stream of blood rushed down Reno's face. _How nice,_ Roxas smiled,_ It matches his hair._

As anticipated, Reno was too stunned to retaliate for a moment, but once it passed he was blazing with revenge. He tried to swing at Roxas, but the blonde was too damn fast. He ducked and nailed Reno in the stomach. _I feel terrible for doing this. I'm sure he's a nice guy underneath it all. But he's a jerk and he was really rude to me. So...somehow this feels justified._ It was thin reasoning, but enough to make him smile when Reno crashed back into the front board. _Besides; I blame testosterone._

Like a raging rhinosaurus, Reno collected himself, seeing red. However the red was the blood which was still gushing from his face; if he had any sense at all he would head to the nurse's office. Which he did, with the help of a chubby brunette standing by the door. She looked delighted at the attention. The door shut behind them, and they were left with the wreckage.

"...Wow." was all anyone could say. Who knew Roxas was such a tank? The blonde turned back to his friends and sat on a desk. They waited for him to say something. Axel stood cautiously away, delighted at Roxas' choosing him over his brother, but also fearing the strength he saw from him. This was a startling new development. So all those times Axel would glomp onto Roxas, and he would struggle, he could have actually gotten away if he wanted to? So...he didn't want to? Again, his brain was running a thought-processing marathon. So...he likes me?

"Fuck," Roxas finally said something, breaking the tense silence. "I'm covered in nose blood." He frowned, grossed out. The room instantly swung back into motion, a couple girls running over with hankerchiefs, the rest of them making mental notes to start carrying hankies. Within a few moments Roxas was all clean again, and he was happy. Questions, however, were still unanswered.

"Roxas," Zexion asked, speaking up for the first time, "Why did you do that?" It was pretty much the only question on everyone's minds. Sure, Reno was being a jerk, but for Roxas to lash out like that?

Roxas scoffed. "Simple. I'm not his boyfriend," he gestured to Axel, "And it was very rude of him to presume I was."

Dumbfounded expressions spread like wildfire. "That's it?" Sora stared. He contemplated it for a moment, then laughed. "Yeah, that sounds pretty typical of you. Nice work, dude." He patted him on the back, followed by the rest of the gang, leave Axel. He was still chugging along on the thought train.

Their congratulations were cut short, however, when an unexpected character burst into their classroom - the teacher.

He surveyed the classroom, taking in the disturbances. "Who..." he focused in on the puddle of blood on the floor, "...does that belong to?" Nobody said a word. "I see," he said, pacing to the front of the room around the desks still skewed around. "Listen up, class. Ladies, it's called a tampon. Get one. Because that," he pointed to the puddle, "is disgusting. You." He pointed to a lanky boy near the window. "Go fetch a janitor. The rest of you, fix up these desks. And get back to reading from your textbooks. I might decide to give you all a test one of these days." And with that, he left once again.

Roxas felt responsible for the mess, so he hopped up and helped some of the other students put the desks back in order. He was lining up one row by the door when a classmate came over to speak with him in confidence. He was a sturdy looking boy, and seemed somewhat familiar... _I think he plays sports with Tidus._

"Hey man, do you know where Ti is? We have practice after school and really need him to be there..." he looked over to where the group usually sat, and indeed, the prominent athelete was missing.

"Yeah..." Roxas scratched his head, "I brought him home yesterday. He got in a...uh, accident. He wasn't hurt or anything, just really tired. I'm sure if you call him around the end of the day you'll get ahold of him." He wasn't about to explain what Tidus had told him to this guy. Mostly because he had no idea what happened. Ti had just muttered something about being kidnapped and then fell asleep. Roxas had to go find a wagon and an umbrella and load the boy into it to take him home. It had been a lot of work just to get him off his couch. But Tidus was soaking wet and Roxas did not want his beloved couch to get mouldy.

"An accident?" the boy looked worried. "But you're sure he wasn't hurt? We can't win the game friday without him." Genuine concern? No, he just didn't want to lose his game. Typical.

Roxas sighed. "Yeah, he's fine. Go over now and check on him if you want. Just don't expect him to be talkative." He left the boy to contemplate and went back to his desk. Sora and Zexion were engaged in a deep discussion of how eating pasta from a mircrowave changes the flavour and Axel and Riku seemed to be plotting something. Again.

"Roxaaaaas," Axel whined, "Today's Monday. Since Tidus isn't here to make out with Selphie, do I still have to get tattoos?"

"What are you talking about?" Roxas looked confused, sitting beside him.

Riku frowned. "The day on the island. He and Ti made a bet that if Tidus made out with Selphie, Axel would get his face tattooed. And he conveniently forgot about it till I reminded him," he added, smiling maliciously. Oh, how glorious it was to not be the one on the receiving end of a stupid bet.

"Yeah, and since Tidus isn't here I don't know what I should do..." the redhead leaned on his desk pensively.

"Just get them anyways? Then he'll have to make up for it even more," Roxas suggested, shrugging. _I really don't care. This is a stupid problem. Why would you make a bet like this?_ "He'll have to make out with her, like, twice."

Axel lit up. "Good idea!" However, unbeknownst to him, Tidus would never, ever get near Selphie again. "Roxy, will you come with me after school? I don't wanna do this by myself," He threw him a sad, puppy-dog eyed look.

Roxas shook his head. "No, sorry. I'm busy today."

"Doing what?" Axel's interest piqued. Roxas, having plans and not informing him? Impossible. He kept a very close tab on the going ons of Roxas' life.

"None of your business!" Roxas snapped, a little more forcefully than he expected. Axel withdrew, pouting.

"I was just wondering..." he sulked, trying to look like his feelings were as hurt as possible. _A perfectly underhanded maneuver._

Roxas sighed. Normally he would tell Axel, but this...could not be shared with the public. "I'm just going to spend the afternoon with my sister. In exchange for her forgiveness for being out all of friday night," he added, with just enough blame in his voice to make Axel feel guilty. It worked.

"Oh," Axel frowned. He didn't like Larxene in particular. He thought she was bizzare and evil. A fair judgement, from how she had treated the boys when they were kids. Playing house? Oh, no. That was far too tame for Larxene. She liked to play deserted island. Wherein she would take all the boys, put them in a boat, and drive it over to one of the tiny islands, only big enough for a palm tree and a lot of frustration. They would be dumped out and she would drive around the island laughing for a good hour or so. Evil? Yes, most definately. "Well, okay. I can be brave on my own."

_Good,_ Roxas breathed a sigh of relief. _There must be no witnesses to this afternoon._ "Okay. Good boy," he added. _Extra emphasis to make sure he stays away? Sure, why not. _He have the redhead a kind of half-hug, with one arm because he was sitting beside him. This cheered Axel up considerably. "So what is everyone else doing this afternoon?"

Sora looked up. "I'm going over to Zex's house. We're going to experiment!" he proclaimed, seeming quite happy.

"You mean try to make more things explode in the microwave. Don't phrase it that way, idiot," Zexion smacked him in the head. He saw the look he got from Riku. And he did not like it, no, not one bit. "I blew up some pasta yesterday and wrecked the microwave. We have to buy a new one anyways now, so we're gonna trash the old one before it gets thrown out."

"Sounds like a blast," Riku said finally. He almost went into super-protective-Riku mode. Good thing he had _amazing_ self-control. Yup, amazing. Really.

"What about you, Riku?" Sora asked, picking up his backpack. The class would be ending soon.

Riku sighed. "I'm...probably just going to spend the day with my sister and her friends. They're having a bonfire on the beach tonight so I'm assuming i'll be carrying the branches around. Curse these amazing muscles of mine!" he posed, flipping his hair to the side, "I'm just too magnificent. Everybody wants my help." He glanced over at Sora with one eye. His pose faded when he found his favorite brunette was back to his discussion of microwaves. _Pay attention to me, damnit! _Riku frowned, but gathered up his backpack as the bell rang. _Whatever. I'll just talk to him later._

--

Awe, poor Riku. He's not the center of attention today XD Don't worry. The next chapter will be better for him. Because I love him and don't want him left out. And what of poor Tidus?! Does no one care about him? What exactly does Larxene have planned for Roxas after school? Will Axel go through with the tattoos? Will Zexion and Sora survive tampering with a microwave? And will Riku finally get some action?

Find out next time, in **Chemical Kisses: Unbridled Affections, Part Two!**

-Damien (I could be a tv announcer.)


End file.
